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The hronicle C A Publication of the American Translators Association VOLUME XXIX • NUMBER 10 OCTOBER 2000

Focus on the Law and Translating/Interpreting Featured Language: Italian

The Features Chronicle Proofreading : A Checklist, not a Blank Check A Publication of the American Translators Association By Dena Bugel-Shunra ...... 12 Volume XXIX, Number 10 After a is completed, the next step is proofreading. October 2000 Whether you commission your own proofreader or your client takes care of that side of the transaction, you can spare yourself a lot of grief if you put together a list of proofreading requirements and submit it with the translation. Wills and Estates in Italy By Marica Pariante Angelides ...... 15 This article will answer the following questions: 1) According to Italian law, when is an Italian will valid?; and 2) Can an American citizen living abroad challenge an Italian will? At the same time, the article will also give an Italian version of the most relevant legal terms a translator is likely to encounter. Concision in Technical Translations from English into Italian By Roberto Crivello ...... 17 A few methods and suggestions on pruning wordiness in technical translations from English into Italian. Focus on the Law and Fossil DNA, the Perfect Language, and the Internet Translating/Interpreting By Roberto Arcangeli (English translation by Anne Milano Appel) . . . 20 Featured Language: The hunt for the fossil DNA of Indo-European languages: the nth Italian attempt to exhume the “perfect language.” A fruitless endeavor since linguistic diversity is not divine retribution, but the successful result

Photo: Occulus and dome of the Pantheon. of human evolution. The Challenges of Working as a Court Interpreter in Germany By Barbara M. Mueller-Grant ...... 23 Monthly Columns The work of a court interpreter in criminal cases in Germany is From the Executive Director ...... 7 interesting, but can be very frustrating for beginners. One reason From the President ...... 8 for this is that in most of the Laender (states), there are few possi- ATA Activities ...... 10 bilities available for learning or improving the skills interpreters Upcoming Conferences and need for the job. The article focuses on the situation in the state of Educational Programs ...... 11 Hessen. Topics include the qualifications and procedure for Dictionary Reviews ...... 56 becoming a court interpreter, the criminal courts (the players, Translating Into Success. American Translators Association’s Scholarly status, selection, and role of court interpreters, as well as the Monograph Series, Vol. XI working conditions), and other employers of sworn interpreters. Reviewed by Leland D. Wright, Jr. Finally, the role of the German Interpreters and Translators Asso- The Translation Inquirer ...... 57 ciation in providing forums for discussion, opportunities for fur- Compiled by John Decker ther education, and trying to improve conditions for court inter- Accreditation Forum ...... 58 preters and translators will also be discussed. Humor and Translation ...... 59 Italian Translations: To Edit and How to Edit—This Is the Question By Mark Herman By Carmela Pacchioni ...... 29 Display Advertising Index ...... 64 Nowadays, editors are in big demand in the Italian translation ATA Chapters and Regional Groups . . . . 60 market, and almost no translation company would simply take a text Classified Ads ...... 62 from a translator and deliver it to the client without at least proof- Accreditation Exam Sites ...... 62 reading or editing it. Nonetheless, editing is a very broad concept New Active and Corresponding Members . . 62 worth discussing in detail so as to prevent misunderstanding and unpleasant surprises. Mission Impossible— in Swedish? By Monica Scheer ...... 35 What happens when an entirely new kind of humor, and foreign on top of that, befalls Swedish television viewers? How does the trans- lator cope in a subtitling country like Sweden where translation already has two kinds of restrictions: limitations of space and time? The AN EASY REFERENCE TO ATA MEMBER BENEFITS Your ATA membership has never been more valuable. Take advantage of the dis- Chronicle counted programs and services available to you as an ATA member. Be sure to tell A Publication of the American Translators Association 1999 FIT Best Periodical Award Winner these companies you are an ATA member and refer to any codes provided below. 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590 Business Owners Insurance Alexandria VA 22314 Seabury & Smith, Inc. Tel: (703) 683-6100; Fax (703) 683-6122 (800) 368-5969 ext. 852 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Website: www.atanet.org Editor Collection Services/Receivables Management Jeff Sanfacon Dun & Bradstreet [email protected] Ask for Sharon LeBoutillier Proofreader (800) 333-6497 ext. 7468 Margaret L. 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(800) 368-5969 ext. 852 Chronicle Submission Guidelines [email protected] The ATA Chronicle enthusiastically encourages members to submit Training and Seminars articles of interest to the fields of translation and interpretation. 1) Articles (see length specifications below) are due the first of Dun and Bradstreet the month, two months prior to the month of publication (i.e., Reference Code: 888TI June 1 for August issue). (212) 692-6600 2) Articles should not exceed 3,000 words. Articles containing words or phrases in non-European writing systems (e.g., www.dnbtraining.com Japanese, Arabic) should be submitted by mail and fax. 3) Include your fax, phone, and e-mail on the first page. ...And, of course, as an ATA member you receive discounts on the Annual Con- 4) Include a brief abstract (three sentences maximum) empha- ference registration fees and ATA publications, and you are eligible to join ATA sizing the most salient points of your article. 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4 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Features Continued Need a membership Bond Clauses in Spanish Contracts: A Brief Overview form for a colleague? By Leland D. Wright, Jr...... 39 The article discusses the various types of bond clauses found in Want the latest list Spanish-language contractual documents and the reasons for their of exam sites? existence. It introduces the most commonly used Spanish terms and phraseology and their English counterparts, illustrated by excerpts Call ATA’s Document on taken from a number of Latin American texts that the author has trans- Request line, available lated over the years. Finally, it offers suggestions on how to deal with 24-hours a day: different kinds of translation problems confronted by translators of Spanish legal texts. Legal Translation: A Personal Perspective By Enéas Theodoro Jr...... 43 1-888-990-3282 This is a personal view of legal translation by someone with many years of experience in this field who has learned many tough lessons. This experience is reflected in some theoretical and practical musings The Call is toll-free and user-friendly... which focus on the U.S. and Brazilian legal systems. simply follow the voice prompts and have the ATA documents Forensic Transcribing and Translating: Who should perform the work? you need faxed to you. By Sandro Tomasi ...... 46 This article presents a brief case law history of how transcripts are Here’s the current list of documents allowed into court procedures. Outlined in the article are the steps that are available and that have been taken by the courts to ensure accurate transcript/trans- their document numbers: lation documents. Conclusions are made, based on the case law reviewed, as to who should perform transcript/translation work. Menu ...... 1 What a Difference a Word Makes: Yiddish Connotation in Isaac Membership Brochure ...... 20 Bashevis Singer’s ‘Gimpel the Fool’ Membership Application ...... 21 By Lillian Schanfield ...... 51 Alternative Routes to Active or This article compares the influential 1953 English translation by Corresponding Membership . . . . .22 Saul Bellow to Isaac Bashevis Singer’s 1945 Yiddish text, which A Guide to ATA Accreditation . . . .30 uses two different Yiddish words for the English word “fool”—tam ATA Accreditation Practice Test and narr, arguing that the burden of the story lies in the distinction Request Form ...... 31 between these two connotative words. It suggests that Gimpel, the ATA Accreditation Examination “fool” , actually wills his own credulity by subscribing to a non-empirical definition of reality—a Platonic or Kabbalistic Registration Form ...... 32 conceptualization of material and spiritual realms. This leads to the Request for Accreditation Review . .33 conclusion that the story is about the nature of faith. Brief consid- List of Publications & eration is given to several differences that might have occurred in Order Form ...... 40 this translation as a result of the passage of 50 years, during which Editorial Guidelines ...... 50 time we have seen an increasing celebration of ethnic differences in Chronicle Advertising Rates ...... 51 American culture and . 1994 Chronicle Index ...... 52 1995 Chronicle Index ...... 53 1996 Chronicle Index ...... 54 For Long-Term Planners... 1997 Chronicle Index ...... 55 1998 Chronicle Index ...... 56 Future Annual Conference 1999 Chronicle Index ...... 57 Sites and Dates ATA Code of Professional Conduct ...... 58 ATAware Order Form ...... 60 Los Angeles, California Phoenix, Arizona Chapters, Affiliated Groups & October 31- November 5-8, 2003 Other Groups ...... 70 November 3, 2001 Model Contract for Translators . . . .90 Atlanta, Georgia Toronto, Canada November 6-9, 2002 October 13-16, 2004 Visit our Website at www.atanet.org

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 5 About Our Authors...

Marica Pariante Angelides is an Italian lawyer teaches technical translation and general interpretation at the Isti- who provides freelance legal consulting, trans- tuto San Pellegrino in Misano Adriatico, Italy. She can be reached lating, and interpreting services. She is ATA- at [email protected]. accredited (English>Italian). She holds a Laurea in Giurisprudenza from the Università La Sapienza in Lillian Schanfield is a professor of English at Rome and a Master of Laws from the University of Barry University in Miami, Florida. She holds Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia. She now lives in Wash- degrees from the University of Miami, University ington, D.C., and can be reached at [email protected]. of Montreal, Barry University, and Oxford Univer- sity. Her publications reflect a broad, frequently Roberto Arcangeli, born in Rome in 1956, has interdisciplinary, interest in women’s studies, lan- resided in Sweden since 1989. Authorized by the guage theory, anthropology, and literature. Her most recent essays Swedish government to translate legal texts and have been about , Robert Herrick, Susan Glaspell, official government documents, he specializes in , and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Yiddish was her translating from English- and Swedish-into-Italian first language. She can be reached at [email protected]. in the technical, mechanical, and automotive fields. After law studies at Urbino University, he worked as a sales man- Monica Scheer has been working as a subtitler for ager in an Italian textile company until 1989, and was co-owner of Swedish television since 1964, translating from a Swedish stock firm in the import-export sector. He has been a English-, French-, Italian-, and Russian-into- professional translator since 1993. He recently gave up his capital Swedish. Throughout the years she has been shares in other activities in order to devote himself exclusively to teaching the techniques of subtitling to translators. the art of translation. Since 1997, she has been giving lectures on subti- tling abroad, for translation students in London and Dublin, and at Anne Milano Appel specializes in commercial and literary trans- international language conferences in Helsinki, Barcelona, and lations from Italian-to-English. Formerly a director of public Catania. She can be reached at [email protected]. libraries, she has also taught English, Italian, and English as a Second Language, and holds a Ph.D. in Romance languages and Enéas Theodoro, Jr. taught legal translation classes at the São literature. She can be reached at [email protected]. Paulo Alumni Association in Brazil. As a certified public trans- lator, he was a partner for more than 10 years in a legal translation Dena Bugel-Shunra has been translating and interpreting profes- firm in São Paulo with several attorneys who were also certified sionally for over a decade. Her main activity is in the field of IT, public translators. His work as a translator over the last 20 years with a sub-specialization in legal translation. Teaming up with a has concentrated almost solely on the legal field. He can be Lantra-listmate, she’s been running the U.S. side of Bugel-Shunra reached at [email protected]. Translation, Writing, and Consulting since 1997. She can be reached at [email protected] or www.shunra.net/dena.html. Sandro Tomasi is a certified court (New York) and medical (Washington) interpreter (Spanish) and is currently working with Roberto Crivello is a freelance technical translator. Born and raised the Office of the Bronx District Attorney in New York City as a in Palermo, Italy, he lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. He holds graduate full-time interpreter, where he has performed extensive work as a degrees in engineering in both Italy and the U.S., and has held engi- transcriber/translator. He is currently the chairman of the Profes- neering positions in both countries. He is ATA-accredited from sional Development Committee for the Legal Interpreters and English-into-Italian, and is administrator of ATA’s Italian Language Translators Association in New York City. He can be reached at Division. He can be reached at [email protected]. [email protected].

Barbara M. Mueller-Grant interrupted her studies towards a Leland D. Wright, Jr. (called Lee by virtually everyone but his Ph.D. in Germanics to spend a year in Germany. She began mother, a few recalcitrant relatives, and telemarketers who don’t working for a language school as a teacher and translator. She know how to pronounce his given name) has been an accredited passed the Hessian state examinations for translators and inter- (Spanish>English), active member of ATA since 1975, serving preters in 1980, and has been working as a freelance translator and two terms as an ATA director and four years as editor of the interpreter for 20 years, specializing in legal, business, and med- Chronicle, plus handling various other duties within the ATA and ical translations. Her extracurricular activities include serving on the Northeast Ohio Translators Association over the years. After the board of directors of the Hessian State Translators Association, working eight years as the in-house translator for a major interna- as well as on a number of federal association committees. She can tional engineering and construction firm, he went freelance in be reached at [email protected]. 1982, offering his professional services to local clients and to a number of translation companies in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, Carmela Pacchioni graduated from the Scuola as well as assisting in the development and marketing of termi- Superiore per Interpreti e Traduttori in Bologna, nology management software. Since 1990, he has been an adjunct Italy, in 1986, and is an ATA-accredited (Eng- associate professor of Spanish translation at Kent State University lish>Italian) freelance translator and interpreter (Institute for Applied Linguistics), where he enjoys teaching an based in Modena, Italy. She also works as an editor annual M.A.-level course in commercial and legal translation. He for Italian and foreign translation companies, and can be reached at [email protected].

6 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 ATA Offers Retirement Programs

TA has just made it easier and cheaper helps participants make the best decisions for for ATA members to set up a retirement their specific situation. A program. ATA President Ann Macfar- ¥ The plan is backed by the financial strength From the lane recently signed an agreement with the of MassMutual, one of the country’s top Washington Pension Center (WPC) to offer 401(k) providers and money managers. Executive retirement programs to ATA members. Director When shopping for an organization to offer The programs are tailored for small busi- ATA members retirement plans, I was armed nesses, from independent contractors to larger Walter Bacak, CAE with the knowledge and experience of setting translation and interpretation service compa- [email protected] up the 401(k) plan for the ATA staff. In partic- nies. The programs offer something for every- ular, I was attuned to the setup fees and admin- one, including simple IRAs. istrative costs. And, just as I got a great deal And, if you already have a retirement program through my membership in the American in place, it cannot hurt you to make the call and Society for Association Executives, ATA mem- compare your plan to the ones being offered by bers are getting a great deal with the programs ATA and WPC. For more information, please offered by WPC. contact Harry Martens with WPC at (301) 941- 9179 or [email protected]. Here’s what WPC has to offer: By the way, this program was set up in ¥ Comprehensive enrollment support to assist response to member feedback. If there is a pro- you to fully understand the plan. gram or service you would like to see ATA offer, ¥ Ongoing participant support through the toll- please contact me and I will see what we can do. free Participant Information Center, a free 800-phone line staffed by highly trained Susan Dashiell Joins ATA Staff retirement specialists. Susan Dashiell has joined the ATA staff as ¥ A high quality selection of top-rated mutual meetings and administration manager. She will funds, including Fidelity, T.Rowe Price, be responsible for handling various aspects of Oppenheimer, Morgan Stanley, and Janus. the ATA Annual Conference and for taking care ¥ Complete recordkeeping services, including of a variety of in-house administrative func- all compliance testing and IRS forms. tions. Prior to ATA, Susan worked for several ¥ Internet access, which allows you to conduct years for a Washington, D.C. law firm before transactions and see the status of your quitting to go back to school full-time. She account 24-hours a day. recently earned her bachelor’s degree from ¥ Assistance in planning retirement via “The George Mason University. Journey,” a complete interactive Website that

ATA’S DOCUMENT ON REQUEST LINE 1-888-990-3282

Need a membership form for a colleague? Want the latest list of exam sites? Call ATA’s Document on Request line, available 24-hours a day. For a menu of available documents, please press 1 at the prompt, or visit ATA’s Website at www.atanet.org.

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 7 Gnutella Free Riders

he “Gnutella” of my title is not a new presenting at conferences or regional events; or kind of chewy, nutty candy bar, but an participating in listserves or other online forums, From the T Internet file-sharing system that has I find 20 percent a reasonable guess as to the been much in the news. Gnutella is one of the number of members who offer something to the President systems whereby computer users can share their community of their peers. And it seems to me that music files with each other for free by down- we are not quite in the lopsided Gnutella situa- Ann G. Macfarlane loading from each other’s computers. An August tion, with one percent offering a two-fifths share. [email protected] study on the traffic in Gnutella gave some We are more fortunate in having many people telling statistics. The system had been set up in making smaller contributions as they are able. an Eden-like vision of generosity, with the idea So what about you, fearless reader, ATA that music lovers everywhere would be able to member, participant in our professional associa- share and share alike, taking pleasure in the art tion? Are you a “free rider,” or do you benefit they possessed and offering it to peers. The from the efforts of your peers enough that you reality is that 70 percent of those who connected feel called to offer something in return? We are to the system during the 24-hour study period all volunteers, and we are all enriched by the offered no files at all to download. In the words experience, wisdom, knowledge, and perspi- of Economist magazine, “A mere 20% provided cacity that our colleagues provide through the 98% of the material. Indeed, the most generous ATA. If you haven’t yet taken the step of writing 1% served up about 40% of it.” for the Chronicle, serving on the Board of a This led me to do a little freehand calculation chapter, or making a presentation at the ATA of my own. Making rough estimates for the Annual Conference, why not step up to the number of people actively involved as volunteers plate? You’ll get more than a candy bar’s worth in their chapter or division; serving on an ATA of reward, I promise you, and you’ll be making committee or in the accreditation program; the ATA a better place for all of us. writing for the Chronicle or other newsletters;

"Innovations" IJET-12@Monterey/2001 Twelfth International Japanese/English Translation Conference Saturday, May 26 and Sunday, May 27, 2001 Monterey, California

Cost (includes dinner Saturday night at the Monterey Bay Aquarium) Standard fee: $200, Student rate: $100

The twelfth IJET conference will be held in Monterey, California, an area of breathtaking natural beauty as well as world-class sights, including the renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium and Pebble Beach Golf Course. Only two hours from San Francisco and an hour from Silicon Valley, Monterey offers not only top-level conference facilities and accommodations, but a wide variety of leisure activities as well. This IJET conference will cover many issues of interest to Japanese and English translators, but will place special emphasis on the technical innovations that have had such a powerful impact on the world over the last few years, especially on the translation industry. A limited number of rooms is being offered at a special rate at the Doubletree Hotel, and early hotel reservations are rec- ommended. (Doubletree Hotel contact information is on the IJET-12 Website.) For further information and to register, visit the Website at: www.ijet.org/ ijet-12 or contact Alan Siegrist at: [email protected].

8 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 9 ATA ACTIVITIES

Accreditation Conference (Please see “From the Executive Direc- ¥ The new exam year started with two ¥ ATA’s 41st Annual Conference took tor” in this issue for more information.) sittings in Orlando, Florida. place in Orlando, Florida. ¥ An exam sitting has been added in Salt Public Relations Lake City, Utah. Membership ¥ ATA continues to work with the ¥ ATA Membership surpassed last American Foundation for Translation Board year’s record of 7,278 members with and Interpretation, the Fédération ¥ The elections were held for the Board of 7,340 members as of September 1. Internationale des Traducteurs, the Directors. (The results will be announced This is 7.9 percent ahead of last year ASTM Translation User Standards in the November/December issue.) at this time. and Language Interpreting Projects, ¥ The Board met September 23-24 in and the Localisation Industry Stan- Orlando. (The highlights of the meeting Membership Services dards Association. will be in the November/December ¥ ATA now offers retirement programs issue.) through Washington Pension Center.

VISIT ATA’S WEBSITE www.atanet.org

10 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Upcoming Conferences and Educational Programs

TRADOS Workshops [email protected]; or visit www.fbi.fh-koeln.de/DEUTERM/ TRADOS Corporation offers one-day training workshops ivsw2000E.htm for more information. each month for Translator’s Workbench, MultiTerm, and WinAlign at its site at 113 S. Columbus Street, Alexandria, Vir- Society for Technical Communication 48th Annual Conference ginia. Attendance is limited. For more information, contact: Tel: May 13-16, 2001 (703) 683-6900; Fax: (703) 683-9457; E-mail: [email protected] Chicago Hyatt Regency ¥ Chicago, Illinois or www.trados.com. The Society for Technical Communication will hold its 48th Annual Conference at the Chicago Hyatt Regency in Chicago, Ninth International Technology, Meetings, and Incentives Illinois, May 13-16, 2001. The conference will feature more October 26-29, 2000 ¥ Bangkok, Thailand than 250 technical sessions covering technical writing, editing, For more information, please visit www.cimpa.org/itmic.htm. management, Web page design, multimedia, and other subjects of interest to technical communicators. For more information, English-Spanish/Spanish-English Translation Seminar please visit the STC office Website at www.stc-va.org (from the November 4, 2000 main page, select “What’s New”). The site also contains a recap Arlington, Virginia of STC’s most recent conference, which will give readers a Alicia Agnese & Associates will hold a one-day Spanish and sense of what the next conference will be like (from the main English translation seminar on November 4, 2000, in Arlington, page, select “Conferences”). Detailed information on the next Virginia. There will be concurrent sessions on terminology and conference will be posted on the site later this year. For more context and contrastive grammatical structures in Spanish and information about STC, please visit www.stc-va.org or call English. The English-Spanish workshops will be conducted by (703) 522-4114. Alicia Agnese, and the Spanish-English workshops by Terrence McElhaney. For more information, call (703) 379-0653; e-mail: Critical Link 3: Interpreters in the Community [email protected], or visit www.aagnese.com. May 22-26, 2001 Montreal, Canada Translation Studies Conference: Recent Theories Critical Link 3: Interpreters in the Community will be held and Applications in Montreal, Canada from May 22-26, 2001. The specific University of Salamanca theme for this conference is Interpreting in the Community: November 16Ð18, 2000 The Complexity of the Profession. As in the previous two Crit- Salamanca, Spain ical Link conferences, participants will discuss interpretation For more information, please contact [email protected]; in the community (health services, social services, courts, and Tel: +34-923-294-400 ext. 1174; www.usal.es/precurext (listed schools). The event will provide interpreters, users of inter- as “Estudios de Traducción,” code number 00087-1). preter services, administrators, and researchers with an oppor- tunity to share experiences, explore the complexity of the Language Technologies for Dynamic Business in the Age of community interpreter profession, and learn about successful the Media Conference strategies and models in this rapidly evolving field. The call November 23-25, 2000 for papers and further information can be found at: www. University of Applied Sciences Cologne ¥ Cologne, Germany rrsss06.gouv.qc.ca/english/colloque/index2.html. The 26th Annual Conference of the International Association of Language and Business will focus on the use of language tech- Call for Papers: Canadian Association of Translation nologies for customer-oriented services. The following topics Studies 14th Annual Congress will be discussed: tools for in-company language support; May 26-28, 2001 Internet-based language resources; language as a vehicle for Université Laval ¥ Quebec City, Quebec, Canada communication in Internet services; multilingualism on the The theme of the conference will be "Translation and Cen- Internet (as seen by the company); multimedia applications in a sorship." For more information, please contact Dr. Denise company. The conference is aimed at: top management and Merkle at the Université de Moncton, Département de traduc- leading figures in industry, commerce, publishing houses, admin- tion et des langues, Casier 30, Faculté des arts, Moncton (Nou- istration, politics, law, and culture; scientists and academics from veau-Brunswick) E1C 5E6; Tel: (506) 858-4214; Fax: (506) 858- various related disciplines; and technical writers, translators, 4166; e-mail: merkled@ umoncton.ca; or visit www.uottawa.ca/ interpreters, and terminologists. Please find the registration form associations/act-cats/index.htm for more information. on our Website or contact: Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dirk Schmitz at Tel: +49-221-8275-3272; Fax: +49-221-8275-3991; E-mail: klaus.

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 11 Proofreading Translations: A Checklist, not a Blank Check

By Dena Bugel-Shunra

he proofreading issue is a teammates, the first thing we have to do is establish communi- touchy one. It is hard to sum- cation and set goals. T mon up sufficient humility to This is obviously true if you hire the proofreader, and is less admit that we not only make mistakes obvious if your client is the one doing the hiring. Is the proof- while translating, but that it will be reader there to show you up? Well, no, not really. But you may better, and more economical, if these have to put some effort into making the relationship one of mistakes are caught by a second pair cooperation rather than mutual obstruction. of eyes. “Did this text grow errors in My best tool for this has been a very polite letter, written in the mail?” translators ask, “I really the spirit of humility, to let the proofreader know how much I did go over it twice, and it had no appreciate their effort, and to suggest which aspects of the text errors at all!” would benefit most from their talent. It’s a good idea to think about the content of this letter before writing it, otherwise it may appear that you are simply shooting off instructions. The ...The problem seems to be one of main message to convey in this letter is: “please remove only errors; do not rewrite; do not rephrase; just keep out any errors ego: ours and theirs. Translators like and put back in any omission—and that’s all.” This leads, of to think their work is perfect, course, to an interesting question. proofreaders like to prove their work What Is an Error? is necessary... The proofreader’s job is to find and mark errors, but what is an error? A spelling mistake is an error. The proofreader should definitely mark these. But then, so should computerized spell- Lighten up. To err is human, but to checkers, and you’ll generally run the document through a spell- proofread well borders on the divine. checker before the proofreader ever gets to see it. In the ongoing tug-o’-war between How about translations that sound un-English (or un- translators and clients, the proofreader Hebrew, un-Greek, un-Dutch, or un-French)? How about a often becomes a phantom to scold us, sentence that is unclear or ambiguous? And how about missing instead of a benevolent improver of our pieces? Do you expect your proofreader to compare the source good work. to the translation? Should he count up the number of para- The problem seems to be one of graphs in the material and query a missing one? ego: ours and theirs. Translators like to How about punctuation? Are you wedded to your commas? think their work is perfect, proof- If so, let the proofreader know. Otherwise, let him know that readers like to prove their work is nec- you won’t object to changes of this type. And how do you feel essary. One good way to get out of this about translated idioms that sound flat? Would you like those situation is by rephrasing the previous queried as well? sentence, as follows, and adding a bit The answers are up to you—and your own particular on at the end: strengths and flaws. However you answer, it is better that you think about these issues and provide your proofreader with Translators like to think their work clear instructions before he starts working. is perfect, proofreaders like to prove An example of a problem area from my own particular lan- their work is necessary, and both of guage combination is that nouns, numbers, and verbs have these professionals can combine gender, and keeping the gender straight has always been partic- their various skills and cooperate in ularly difficult for me. My proofreaders know this and, while the creation of an excellent trans- I’ve gotten somewhat better at it over the years, love catching me lated text. on this error. That’s why I employ them. They’re eager to find an error—and I’m even more eager to have them find it, rather than When phrased in this manner, we the client. And errors crop up everywhere, in everyone’s work. can see ourselves as part of a team: translator and proofreader working Errors, Errors, Everywhere, nor yet a Spot of Ink together. And when we work with Once you’ve defined the list of issues you’d like to have

12 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 your proofreader deal with, enumerate the items in a polite Getting into Damage Control letter. You may have noticed I keep saying “polite letter.” What if the worst has happened? There’s a reason for this repetition: it is very hard to maintain Your client’s aunt spent her junior year the kind of politeness that will be needed in order to get in Paris or Amsterdam, and she thinks around the proofreader’s two greatest professional deformi- you should change your translation. ties. These are a tendency toward the extreme side on a scale She’s marked it all up, and your client ranging from careless to pedantic, and a sense of doing a job gets back to you with a more-in- that is mostly unappreciated. sorrow-than-in-anger question: “What Pedantry is defined as “slavish attention to rules, details, do you have to say for yourself?” etc.” In most parts of life, it is undesirable. In a proofreader, it which is often followed by “And how is a virtue. And pedants, being pedants, are particularly aware much of a discount will you give me of the tone of letters sent to them. for this appalling quality of work you However, it is the second tendency that really requires great provided?” attention to the niceties of niceness. Professional proofreaders First, don’t panic. This has hap- acquire, over the course of their careers, a feeling born of error- pened to every translator, and if it’s discovery. Verbalized, you’d get a stream-of-consciousness your first time, you’re just lucky. something like this (with a tip of the hat to author Douglas Next, glance over the comments. A Adams, of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fame): first glance can help you assess the kind of damage: are these mostly styl- …they ask me to mark errors, and when I find them—do I istic or were there lots and lots of get thanks? Not at all. I get ARGUMENTS! Here I am, brain typos? Can the reason for your original the size of a planet, and the only appreciation I get is “do choice be documented using a dictio- we really have to put that e in the potatoes?” Call that job nary (that’s best), a Web search satisfaction? Cause I don’t. (second best), or a grammar book (worst!)? If it seems to be mostly styl- Of course, if you’re lucky enough to work with a proof- istic, keep reading. If you really have reader who doesn’t feel like that—good for you. But if you produced an awful translation, skip to write a polite letter, you’ll head off most of the bad vibes that the last paragraph of this segment. could have otherwise appeared. Now, go over the translation with a Politeness, in this case, means that you provide the list of fine-tooth comb. Take the first 15 com- items to look out for and the sources and guidelines you ments and defend your original trans- worked with, as well as the source document and translation. lation, armed with reference books and The more information you come up with, the better equipped style guides. If there’s questionable your proofreader will be to do a thorough job. phrasing, do a Web search for yours and then for your proofreader’s. Which What about Unpaid Proofreaders? is most frequent? Which is most likely Over the years, I’ve seen many translators ask their parents, to come up in the same kind of docu- roommates, and friends to proofread for them. In about half the ment? Use roman numerals to number cases, this leads to disappointment. the comments (Page 3Ðerror I). Do this “But my mother speaks perfect French!” claimed a trans- on paper. lator friend of mine who shall remain nameless. True, she did. After the rush of relief you get by She also had no inkling of what was expected of her. She went discovering that you didn’t make 24 over the birth certificate and carefully changed the spelling of mistakes on every page, get yourself to all the names (which had been copied from the English orig- a photocopier and copy the pages from inal), ignoring phrases left in English by her daughter, who the reference books that uphold your wasn’t entirely sure of the current usage in France. original decisions. Mark each copied Strike that as one for experience. Make sure that if you do page as you did the proofread original. use volunteer workers (and you may find yourself doing so, Make screen prints of the supporting even though you know that this isn’t optimal), you let them know what you want them to do. In detail. Continued on p. 14

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 13 Proofreading Translations: A Checklist, not a Blank Check Continued

A Sample Letter to a Proofreader Web searches—and print them out and mark them up. The result should be a pile of paper suitable for faxing or express mailing to your client. Dear Proofreader, Write a SHORT letter to the client and proofreader, saying something like this: “Thank you for your comments. I’d like to Thank you for taking the time to take issue with the type of comments. Please find enclosed the proofread my translation. I’d like you proofread pages and (whatever number) photocopied and to know that I used the following printed pages supporting my original choices. Since I’ve had to glossary (e-mailed separately) and reject the first 15 comments for the reasons I documented information on the www.example. below, and since your proofreader prefers a very different style com Website. to mine, I don’t feel that any discount should be made from my I worked with the following style usual fee. I look forward to hearing from you on this.” guide (named), since our client didn’t Enclose all the paperwork you’ve created, along with a provide a specific one for this project. typed letter with a table showing your version, the proof- Since I dictate the document, reader’s version, the reason for your disagreement (for please look out for homophones (I example, “the dictionary states this usage is obsolete”; “Bel- once found “lettuce begin” instead of gian usage—this document is for France”; “my version “let us begin”…). Another issue I appears 9,003 times on the Web while your aunt’s version sometimes trip up on is numerical appears only 93 times,” etc.), and a reference to your sheaf of agreement between verbs and nouns. paper documentation. I’d appreciate it if you pay a little extra Chances are that the time it took to prepare your case will attention to those as well. pay off. You will make it clear that you are a serious You probably won’t find any out- craftsman, who takes time to consider issues pointed out by and-out spelling mistakes, since I clients—and one who knows how to use the tools of his or used the MS Word spell-checker her trade. The proofreader will have to come up with some before sending you the document. I reason for the changes, and when addressing a purely styl- also counted the number of bulleted istic issue, that’s hard to do. The final product will be as items in the three bulleted lists, and good as the client wants it, but your fees are much less likely they seem to match, so there are to be jeopardized. probably no oversights. What if your original really was as faulty as the proofreader I’ll be glad to give you the rea- said? Write a short thank-you note to the client and proofreader. soning behind any translation choices Something along the lines of: “Thank you for your interesting I made, and hope to learn from your and insightful comments. I’ve studied them and taken them to comments if I did make any mistakes. heart. Of course, I cannot charge my full rate for a translation I’m glad this project was important that turned out to be as faulty as this one. What percentage of enough for our client to budget for a my bill would you like me to discount?” It is important to honor second pair of eyes to improve it. I look whatever the client says. This approach will surprise and prob- forward to seeing this project success- ably mollify the client, and maybe you won’t lose them. And fully completed! make sure you really DO study the comments—they’re worth the time you spend comparing dictionaries, current usage, and grammar. Language changes constantly, and all a translator can Translator’s signature do is learn, learn, and keep learning.

Moving We’ve done everything possible to ensure that your address is correct. But sometimes errors do occur. If you find that the information on the mailing label is inaccurate or out of date, please let us know. Send updates to: The ATA Chronicle • 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590 • Alexandria, VA 22314 ? Fax (703) 683-6122 • [email protected]

14 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Wills and Estates in Italy

By Marica Pariante Angelides

his article will answer a few of the most common ques- italiana), after the will has been tions I am asked regarding wills and estates in Italy, and written, the testator must give it to a T at the same time give an Italian version of the most rel- notaio in a sealed envelope (in una evant legal terms translators are likely to encounter. busta sigillata) in front of two wit- Imagine an American citizen who has various estate (il com- nesses (alla presenza di due testi- plesso dei beni e dei diritti del defunto aka l’attivo ereditario) moni). The notaio will then write all questions regarding his grandfather, an Italian citizen who lives the formalities he witnessed on the in Rome and who is in very poor health. The grandfather has two envelope and signs and dates the children: a girl and a boy, born in Italy and brought to the U.S. envelope together with the testator by their American mother, who then divorced her Italian hus- and the two witnesses. band, who later remarried an Italian woman. Just coincidentally this happened after his ex-wife passed away. Neither of the children went back to Italy to live, but they ...This article will answer a few of the are in touch with their father and often visit him in Rome. However, the one who visits most and has grown very fond of most common questions...and at the his grandfather is the grandson. He has gone to Rome several same time give an Italian version of the times in the past few years to visit him. During one of these most relevant legal terms translators are trips, the Italian grandfather tells him he has chosen him to be his heir (erede) as well as executor (esecutore testamentario). likely to encounter... The grandson does not know if his grandfather has a written will (testamento), and if he has, if it is valid under Italian law. So the questions are: 1) According to Italian law, when is an Here is what is likely to happen in Italian will valid (valido)?; and 2) Can an American citizen our case. living abroad challenge an Italian will? a) There is no will. The succession is 1) According to Italian law there are only three kind of called successione legittima familiare valid wills: because it gives the relatives of the deceased the right to inherit the estate a) A holographic will (testamento olografico) regulated by when there is no written will. In our Article 602 of the Italian Civil Code. This is a will case, the heirs are the surviving chil- written, dated, and signed completely by hand (una scrit- dren, who are globally entitled to tura privata interamente autografa) by the testator (il te- two-thirds of the assets (each is enti- statore). It may have addenda. However, the will and cod- tled to one-third of the estate), and the icil with the latest date (il codicillo con la data più wife, who is entitled to another one- recente) is the valid one. third. If the wife is no longer alive when the grandfather dies, the two b) A public will (testamento pubblico) regulated by article 603 children split the estate equally. If the of the Italian Civil Code. This is a will written by a notaio1 children die before the wife, she (regato dal notaio) under dictation from the testator. After inherits everything (eredita tutto il the dictation is finished, the notaio reads the will aloud to patrimonio), as long as the grandfa- the testator and the witnesses (i testimoni) and writes the ther does not have any living brothers place and date (il luogo e la data). Then the notaio puts his or sisters. The grandson only inherits signature together with that of the testator and the witnesses the estate if all the above family mem- and also writes the time of the signatures. bers are deceased. If, however, the wife survives the grandfather and c) A secret will (testamento segreto) regulated by article 604 of then passes away without living close the Italian Civil Code. This is a will that could be written by relatives and without a will, her pos- a person different from the testator and it could be typed (bat- session goes to the Italian State. tuto a macchina) or handwritten (autografo). However, in order for it to be valid under Italian law (ai sensi della legge Continued on p. 16

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 15 Wills and Estates in Italy Continued

b) The grandfather has a valid will. This is a bit complicated because under Italian law certain portions of the estate go to the testator’s relatives regardless of what the will says. The succession is called successione necessaria, and the part of the estate that goes to the various relatives depends on how many relatives survive the testator and how numerous they are. If the wife is the only survivor, she is entitled to one- half of the estate regardless of the content of the will. The other half of the estate will go to whomever the will desig- nates. As matters currently stand in our case, the two chil- dren are entitled to one-half of the estate and the wife to another one-fourth. The wife also has the right to live in the house where the family resides. This is after all the expenses and debts, and all the estate taxes are paid. How- ever, the grandson is entitled to receive the equivalent of a specific legacy (un legato testamentario) according to Article 588 of the Italian Civil Code, if the grandfather has mentioned it in his will. If the legacy is not written in the will, then he will not be entitled to any assets.

2) Can an American citizen living abroad challenge an Italian will? If the testator has excluded (ha pretermesso) the above-men- tioned living relatives, they can sue with a lawsuit named Buy or Sell azione di riduzione, regulated by articles 553 to 558 of the Translation Company Italian Civil Code. An Italian will can be challenged only in Italy. However, a foreign party does not have to travel to Register Now Italy in order to sue, since an Italian attorney can appear in court on his behalf (in suo nome e per suo conto). No retainers - No Search Fees Buyer Pays Finders Fee On Closing I would like to thank my husband Peter A. Angelides for his help and support.

Katyusha, Inc. Notes Mergers and Acquisitions 1. A notaio is a lawyer, similar to the British solicitor, who has Serving Translation Industry Nationally passed a special state exam different from the Italian equiv- and Internationally alent of the bar exam, but of similar importance, focused, Integrity, Diligence & Confidentiality among others things, on estate and probate matters.

References Register by email: [email protected] 1. Black’s Law Dictionary Fifth Edition, (St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., 1979), by Henry Campbell Black. Or write to: Mr. Gregory Zaretsky 2. Diritto Civile, Le Successioni, (Milan, Italy: Giuffrè Edi- Katyusha, Inc. tore, 1981), by Massimo Bianca. 200 W. Chapel Ridge Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15238 3 Law Dictionary, EnglishÐItalian (Milan, Italy: Giuffrè Edi- tore, 1996), by Francesco de Franchis. USA

16 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Concision in Technical Translations from English into Italian

By Roberto Crivello

egardless of translators’ technical writing skills, they 4. “Lock the seal in position.” cannot take one of the most important steps needed to Wordage-reproducing translation: R streamline a prolix, poorly organized document: “Bloccare la guarnizione in posi- improving the basic structure of the original document. In zione.” order to streamline, translators must accomplish the difficult If the writer does not specify a par- task of applying general principles of economy, such as ticular position or way to lock the deleting meaningless words, avoiding redundancies, etc., in seal, the last two words say nothing. technical contexts by slogging through a document, identifying In such cases, you can delete in and rectifying the problems in each sentence, and cutting down posizione. the wordage wherever possible. (For an excellent discussion of this subject, see reference 1 at the end of this article.) Only through such endeavors can one assure the highest level of ...This basic principle is: If the clarity for the intended reader. In this article, I will show how opposite of a modifier creates an to apply general principles of concision in translating technical materials from English into Italian. (Note: Although the scope illogical or absurd sentence, then the of this article is limited to English and Italian, many of the sug- original modifier is not needed... gestions may also be useful for translators of other languages.) As you most likely know, in order to achieve the objective of concision, you need an excellent background in technical Eng- Watch for every occurrence of lish and Italian in your field of specialization (especially for the words like any, specific, particular, and most technical problems of wordage), as well as the highest current. Two examples: level of fluency in Italian. Often times, however, your chief asset lies in the ability to apply principles of logic. The fol- 1. “The value entered for a particular lowing examples may help you a bit in learning how to proceed. parameter is not acceptable” (from I have used italics to highlight the terms under discussion. a troubleshooting section). Wordage-reproducing translation: Redundant Modifiers “Il valore immesso per un partico- The basic principle is: If the opposite of a modifier creates lare (or specifico) parametro non è an illogical or absurd sentence, then the original modifier is not accettabile.” needed. A few examples follow. Try deleting particolare (or speci- fico) and re-read the sentence. The 1. “Check for proper operation of the device.” meaning has not changed. Wordage-reproducing translation: “Verificare il corretto funzionamento del dispositivo.” 2 In software translation, you may Since you would never direct someone to verify that the find countless occurrences of cur- operation of a piece of equipment be improper, write rent. Consider this sentence: “Save instead “Verificare il funzionamento del dispositivo.” the current setup using the Save button in the upper right-hand 2. “Verify that the system is properly installed.” corner of the screen.” Wordage-reproducing translation: “Verificare che il sistema Before writing “Salvare la corrente sia installato correttamente.” configurazione mediante...” ask See above. Simply write “Verificare l’installazione del si- yourself if the software gives the stema.” user the possibility of saving another setup (temporarily stored in 3. “For support call your local authorized dealer.” an appropriate memory location) Wordage-reproducing translation: “Per richiedere assi- without displaying it. Most likely stenza rivolgersi al più vicino rivenditore autorizzato.” the answer is no, so in the majority Look it up in the dictionary. A dealer is an authorized of cases you should delete current. person/organization, thus dealer implies authorized. There- fore, you can delete autorizzato. Continued on p. 18

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 17 Concision in Technical Translations from English into Italian Continued

Repetitions in Consecutive “Stampa del documento Sentences Seguire queste istruzioni: It is a very important stylistic rule of 1. written Italian to avoid repetitions of 2. ...” words in consecutive sentences in infor- mative writing (I am thus excluding rep- Unnecessary Explanations or Inflated Instructions etitions which have a rhetorical pur- First, a nontechnical example (about condos; English and pose). English technical documents are translation taken from a translator’s online newsgroup): full of such repetitions. The following examples may help you avoid repro- “Requests may be made by telephone, mail, or fax and will be ducing them. processed on a first-come/first-served basis.” This statement was translated as “Le richieste possono essere effettuate per Opening lines of a section of a technical telefono, posta o via fax e saranno evase in ordine di arrivo.” marketing brochure: “Hand-held welding gun Besides merely duplicating the prolix structure of the English This hand-held welding gun is com- sentence, the translation adds further weight with its choice of pact, with ergonomic controls...” bureaucratic, user-unfriendly terms (effettuate, evase). Read Wordage-reproducing translation: the sentence carefully; it simply says “Le prenotazioni possono “Torcia portatile essere fatte per telefono, posta o fax.” Questa torcia portatile è compatta, dotata di comandi ergonomici...” Next, a few technical examples: Rewrite as follows: “Torcia portatile “The preamplifier circuitry increases the level of the signal é compatta, dotata di comandi before the signal is fed to the mixer circuit.” ergonomici...” Wordage-reproducing translation: “La circuiteria del pre- amplificatore aumenta il livello del segnale prima che Typical sentence from software questo sia inviato al circuito del mixer.” documentation: “Search Window First of all, circuitry means nothing more than circuiti, but even The search window is used to find...” circuiti is superfluous, because a (pre)amplifier (electric, as is Wordage-reproducing translation: obvious in this case) is made of circuits. Second, by definition an “Finestra di ricerca amplifier increases the magnitude of an applied signal, thus you La finestra di ricerca viene utiliz- do not need aumenta il livello del segnale. Third, “is fed to…” zata per trovare...” means “è applicato…,” but in this case you can make the sentence Rewrite as follows: even shorter by using inserire, which means to establish a func- “Finestra di ricerca tional connection. The restructured, leaner sentence reads All’in- Serve a trovare...” gresso del miscelatore è inserito un preamplificatore and contains only seven words in place of the 18-word English sentence. Typical procedure description: “Printing the document Description of the control buttons of a piece of medical To print the document, proceed as diagnostic equipment consisting of a detector ring that follows: rotates while scanning a patient’s body: “This button rotates 1. the equipment clockwise or counterclockwise about [sic] 2. ...” the equipment’s axis of rotation.” The whole second line says nothing. If Wordage-reproducing translation: “Questo pulsante fa you work with a translation memory ruotare l’apparecchiatura in senso orario o antiorario system, you probably cannot delete a intorno al suo asse di rotazione.” single line completely, but at least you can delete the most redundant part (that The translation merely replicates the truism that a body rotates is, Per stampare il documento): about its own axis of rotation, without giving any useful infor-

18 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 mation. A reader-friendly rewriting would say, “Questo pul- technical background and writing sante fa ruotare...intorno al paziente.” skills try to describe technical con- cepts that could be illustrated in Description of the compressor section of a gas turbine: “Air straightforward ways, through simple is drawn into the compressor through the air inlet and is pictures or equations, they often end compressed.” up using several unneeded words or Wordage-reproducing translation: “L’aria viene aspirata nel long convoluted sentences. Since in compressore attraverso la presa d’aria e viene compressa.” translation you must use words and cannot replace writing with pictures or In such a short sentence the translation replicates two truisms: equations, you need to think hard obviously air is compressed in a compressor and, obviously, air about streamlining the original sen- is drawn inside through an air inlet. By deleting half of the sen- tence in order to produce a clear, con- tence (the italicized part), you can add immensely to its clarity. cise translation. This process is not easy and may be very time-con- The prolixity problem in the above English sentences suming, especially in the beginning, results from the writer’s inadequate knowledge of the subject but the reward is great: offering your treated. When we write about material we are trying to learn, readers leaner sentences. we articulate much more than what a knowledgeable reader Nowadays, when we are all over- needs, that is, we belabor the obvious. whelmed by a myriad of messages obscuring the truth—useful informa- The following example illustrates a different typical case of tion buried in a cloud of (sometimes prolixity. unintentional) prolixity—we have much to gain from century-old words The ubiquitous to access (in Italian, accedere) creates elon- on concise writing. In 1919, William gated, bureaucratic-style sentences. Consider these instruc- Strunk, Jr. wrote an extraordinary 63- tions: “Open the cover panel to access the adjusting screw. word essay entitled “Omit Needless Turn the adjusting screw clockwise to decrease the speed Words.” His Rule 17 most elegantly of...” conveys the value and beauty of conci- Wordage-reproducing translation: “Aprire il pannello di sion: “Vigorous writing is concise. A copertura per accedere alla vite di regolazione. Girare la sentence should contain no unneces- vite in senso orario per ridurre la velocità.…” sary words, a paragraph no unneces- sary sentences, for the same reason (The repetition of “vite” in the second sentence typically that a drawing should have no unnec- occurs when one blindly uses a translation memory system, essary lines and a machine no unneces- translating segment after segment without looking at the whole sary parts. This requires not that the paragraph.) Try this instead: “Aprire il pannello di copertura writer make all his sentences short, or della vite di regolazione, quindi girarla…” that he avoid all details and treat his subject only in outline, but that every The following example illustrates how very simple instruc- word tell” (Ref. 2). tions can be needlessly complicated by the writer: References “Line up key to holes in the device and push key in.” 1. Williams, J.M. Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace. Fourth ed., Rather than translating “Allineare la chiave ai fori del disposi- Harper Collins College Publishers, tivo e spingerla in dentro,”just write “Inserire la chiave nel dis- 1994. positivo,” thus giving the reader the same instruction in a sim- pler manner. 2. Strunk, W. Jr.; White, E.B. The Ele- ments of Style. Third ed., Allyn & Note that the prolixity of much technical writing is Bacon, 1979. inherent in its genesis. When writers who lack the necessary

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 19 Fossil DNA, the Perfect Language, and the Internet

By Roberto Arcangeli (English translation by Anne Milano Appel)

e all know Snow White and It has been a significant linguistic study, unquestionably the inevitable seven dwarfs, carried out with scientific spirit and intent. Nevertheless, I am W conceived by the brothers tempted to view it as part of a much broader pattern of Grimm and immortalized by Walt culture, now thousands of years old, which attributes a nega- Disney’s drawing pen. Not as well tive value to linguistic diversity while fantasizing, researching, known to the general public is the fact and doggedly seeking the “perfect language”; the “language of that Jacob, one of the Grimm brothers, the beginning,” the “pre-Babel language.” was also a distinguished linguist. In The concept can be described in the following manner. In 1822, he developed the theory of the beginning mankind was innocent, uninhibited and con- “Lantverschiebung,” or the regular tented, and spoke a single language (here we hear echoes of transfer of sounds among the various Rousseau’s myth of the “noble savage”). Later, man began to languages of Indo-European origin. speak different languages, which created barriers of incompre- hension and hostility from which sprang all of the evils and which we know so well. If man were able to return to ...On the basis of this theory, his origins, to the single, perfect language, many of the world’s problems would automatically be resolved. philologists have been able to It is the Bible, with its famous story of the Tower of Babel, “reconstruct”...ample segments of the which begins to introduce this concept. The association of the ancient Indo-European language, the Tower of Babel with the expulsion from Paradise seems evi- dent. Just as Adam and Eve, motivated by natural human ancestral progenitor of almost all of curiosity, wanted to surpass their state of blissful innocence by the continent’s current languages... tasting the fruit of Good and Evil (causing them to be expelled from Paradise), so the Babylonians wanted to construct a tower to the heavens as a symbol of their progress and power. The On the basis of this theory, philolo- biblical God, who was rather touchy, took it as a gesture of lese gists have been able to “reconstruct,” majesty, and as punishment “condemned” man to speak dif- with a process similar to that of a lin- ferent languages. The result: the tower’s worksite was aban- guistic Jurassic Park, ample segments of doned and the mortar solidified in the buckets. the ancient Indo-European language, the Linguistic diversity is therefore viewed as retribution, as the ancestral progenitor of almost all of the cause and effect of human discord. Consequently, the trans- continent’s current languages. By under- lator is seen as someone who makes a living by exploiting the standing the regular mechanisms by evils that such diversity embodies. Such a person is a necessary which progressive divergence of various figure, to be sure, but also a negative, unwelcome one to be rel- languages has occurred, it has been pos- egated to the shadows. sible to retrace the path of their evolution As the centuries passed, there was never a period in which in reverse through the millennia. This scholars did not come forward ready to lavish energy and study process is not unlike one in which a tele- on the search for the perfect pre-Babel language. Even Dante vision image is projected backwards, believed that there must be a universal grammar, of divine showing a thousand fragments of a vase origin no less, at the bottom of all languages, which had been shattered on the ground; instead of con- lost at the abandoned worksite of the Tower of Babel. But like tinuing to scatter in all directions, the the good, practical Florentine that he was, he thought it would fragments converge toward a single point be wise to drop the idea and write in the vulgar tongue. Then, until, miraculously, the vase reappears too, using his Divine as a vehicle to reproach the town perfectly whole again on the screen. fathers who had condemned him to exile, he had two or three Thanks to this process of recon- little things he wanted to say and wanted his message to be structing the linguistic “fossil DNA,” heard by everyone, including the common people. today we know many of the original Much greater commitment had been lavished upon the con- Indo-European words from which the struction of the perfect language by a contemporary of Dante, terms that billions of people speak the Spanish Franciscan Ramón Llull (Italianized as Raimondo each day are derived. Lullo), with his ambitious project for a universal language

20 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 called “Ars Magna.” Lullo used nine letters for his language, to which corresponded nine divine dignitaries or absolute princi- ples, nine relative principles, nine subjects, nine questions, nine virtues, and nine vices. Then he took his project and went to the Arabs to convert them to the Christian faith and to his perfect language based on combinations of the number nine. The Arabs, who were very gifted in mathematical sciences, did not appreciate his attempts and stoned him to death in 1316. In the centuries that followed, many other great men were drawn to the subject, including philosophers such as Thomas Moore, René Descartes, and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, but the one who undoubtedly had the most success was a Polish optician of Hebrew origin, Lejzer Ludovik Zamenhof, the cre- ator of Esperanto. Despite the fact that Esperanto is studied and known by many in the world, it never became a universal language capable of bringing peace and brotherhood to all peoples as its creator had hoped. If anything, it is English which, following the wave of Amer- ican economic and cultural domination over the last 50 years, is becoming a kind of universal linguistic passe-partout, aided by modern means of communication which are now present in every home and in every mind. But as was the case with Greek in ’s world and Latin in the time of the Roman Empire, it is a language imposed for economic, political, and military reasons, to be superimposed on one’s “own” language in order to facilitate communication with strangers and foreign powers. Even where Latin became so deeply rooted as to supplant the original language, the process of linguistic differentiation was immediately begun again as soon as the central power, which was the cause and support for the imperial language, began to decline. In fact, Latin’s linguistic Diaspora gave rise to French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Rumanian. But must the differentiation among languages really be con- sidered a curse upon the human race, an original sin without pardon, a hereditary defect which genetic engineering cannot remedy? Is the translator truly a necessary evil soon to be ren- dered superfluous by modern technology and ousted from his role as ferryman, plying between shores of understanding, and the exclusive guardian of the narrow opening in the wall of incomprehension? I don’t believe it for a minute. Linguistic diversity is not exclusive to human beings. Ethologists studying animal behavior are well aware that all species of animals endowed with a sufficiently evolved form of vocal communication “speak” dif- ferent languages, according to the geographical areas in which they are located or the subspecies to which they belong. It is precisely this consideration that suggests to me the Dar-

Continued on p. 22

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 21 Fossil DNA, the Perfect Language, and the Internet Continued

winist significance of language: lan- enabled humanity to develop a superior intelligence was the guage understood as a powerful instru- human female’s complicated labor and a childbirth mortality ment of natural evolution. We do not rate infinitely greater than that of females of all other species speak different languages and dialects of mammals, so the consequence of the extremely rapid adap- purely because of an intellectual whim tation of oral communication and the complex of or a congenital defect of our mental languages and dialects has been a growing difficulty in under- configuration. We do so because the standing “others.” natural and social environment that sur- Certainly it is frustrating not to understand someone. To be rounds each of us, every human group sure, it generates impulses of distrust, hostility, and arrogance whether great or small, is continually in the human spirit. In fact, the ancient Greeks called for- changing. It is constantly posing new eigners “barbarians,” a term which derived from mimicking the challenges and new questions, continu- strange languages which were reduced to an incomprehensible ally putting forward new living or inan- “ba...ba...ba” (the origin of the word). From that point it was a imate subjects to classify, identify, and brief step to considering them underdeveloped creatures, sub- describe, and forever presenting us with humans who were not endowed with a level of civilization new ideas to convey and new experi- comparable to theirs. Not only a brief step, but a tragic one. ences to recount. But if the complex and stately mechanisms of evolution This entire changing universe decided that it was worth paying such a high price to have lin- which surrounds us must be “trans- guistic flexibility and adaptability, it means that in the lated” into words (we are therefore all debit/credit balance sheet of evolutionary accounting the ben- translators, in a broad sense). Since the efits outweighed the disadvantages. objects to be described are continually If the cultural tendency to want to see only the negative changing, our language must be aspects of linguistic diversity has taken hold over the centuries, equally flexible and creative, so that and has persisted in pursuing an improbable and chimerical the linguistic instrument through perfect language, it is probably because it is part of human which we convey our surroundings to nature to always emphasize the negative side of things rather others does not become quickly obso- than the positive, to accentuate differences and overlook simi- lete and inadequate. It is a kind of larities, and to view the characteristics of other eras as better in to the environment (not comparison to those of one’s own time—like the neighbor’s only to the natural world, but to the famous grass which is always and irremediably greener. social, economic, psychological, and So that, rather than try to manufacture artificial languages in political environment as well) compa- the alchemist’s shop, the formula to exorcize mutual incompre- rable to genetic mutation, but occur- hension should be a higher level of education available to ring a thousand times more quickly. everyone, especially the children of the third world. An education The capacity to adapt to the environ- that teaches everyone the basics of one or two foreign languages, ment, both material and non-material, so that everyone on the planet can understand one another, at has been the keystone to the success of least on a colloquial level. Toward this end, the Internet will be human evolution. The ability to evolve shown to be a fundamental factor in the following decades. and modify one’s language has been As far as higher levels of communication are concerned (lit- one of the fundamental factors of our erary works, scientific texts, technical manuals, legal docu- extraordinary biological success. ments, etc.), today and tomorrow, just as it was yesterday, the As is always the case in nature, for only suitable answer is to entrust them to the knowing art of every benefit there is also a price to the translator. pay. If, for example, the penalty for the increase in cranial capacity which

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22 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 The Challenges of Working as a Court Interpreter in Germany

By Barbara M. Mueller-Grant

lthough several universities in Germany offer under- regard to the selection of interpreters. It graduate programs in translation and interpreting, is merely assumed that the interpreters A according to university graduates who attend the var- supplied are qualified, but there is no ious workshops organized by the German Interpreters and established system for checking their Translators Association (hereinafter referred to as BDÜ), very qualifications. The general assumption few universities provide practical training in court interpretation. is that if they are native speakers of an Instead, the emphasis is reported to be on European and interna- exotic language, they are automatically tional law. In addition, course materials for translation and inter- qualified to interpret in court. pretation exercises in these programs are selected by instructors who themselves are rarely active as court interpreters. In Hamburg, an excellent external program was initiated ...The general assumption is that if some years ago by UniTrain Verein für wissenschaftliche Weit- they are native speakers of an exotic erbildung e.V. to prepare candidates for an examination in court interpreting and translation. Those passing the exam language, they are automatically were then entitled to be sworn in as interpreters/translators by qualified to interpret in court... the respective authority in Hamburg and to be placed on the court rosters of translators/interpreters. A similar program was recently established in Magdeburg. Becoming a Sworn Interpreter However, there are currently no undergraduate or graduate in Hessen programs for translators or interpreters in the state of Hessen. The Ministry of Justice last revised Instead, there is a State Board of Examinations for Translators the regulations pertaining to the gen- and Interpreters, which offers a difficult written and oral exam- eral oath of office for interpreters and ination; candidates must be able to interpret and translate into the certification of translators in 1994. and out of both languages. The interpreting exam is offered in The requirements for being sworn in as 18 languages and candidates who pass are eligible to become an interpreter are described below. sworn interpreters in Hessen. However, the pool of court interpreters is much wider. Until Business Address. For the time being, a few years ago, anyone with an exotic language (a language for the interpreter must have a business which neither a diploma nor a state examination is offered) was address within the state. This require- able to be sworn in and added to the roster on request. More- ment will probably have to be dropped over, judges are free to choose interpreters as they please, and in the near future, due to EU regula- can then administer an ad hoc oath of office to them at the tions pertaining to the freedom of beginning of the trial. Each of the regional courts has its own movement of workers. official list of interpreters who have been sworn in by the Pres- ident of the Regional Court (in Bavaria and elsewhere such lists State Examination. Interpreters must are kept by the Ministry of Justice on a statewide basis). have passed a state examination as an In practice, however, each court office compiles its own list interpreter in Germany, unless a foreign over the course of time. Generally, so-called sworn interpreters examination or diploma has officially (who have to meet certain qualifications) are given preference, been recognized as being equivalent to but other factors, such as distance of the court interpreter’s this state examination. Hessen is one of office/residence to the court in question, availability, and (it is six states currently offering an external to be hoped) reliability are also taken into consideration. The state examination for translators and official policy of the courts, based on a survey conducted of interpreters, primarily because there are about 200 courts in Hessen, is to summon interpreters person- no universities in the state with the req- ally and to use agencies only for “exotic” languages. Unfortu- uisite undergraduate or graduate pro- nately, actual practice is different. In some cities, for instance, grams. Nowadays, candidates must first certain agencies more or less have a monopoly on the supply of pass the state examination as a translator interpreters and translators, except where judges have estab- or have an approved German or foreign lished good working relationships with individual interpreters. Agencies are not subject to any particular requirements with Continued on p. 24

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 23 The Challenges of Working as a Court Interpreter in Germany Continued

university diploma in translation prior to By now, those of you from California, New York, New taking the examination for interpreters. Jersey, or Washington State are probably shaking your heads in The regulations for swearing in inter- dismay because you have noticed the flaws in the Hessen preters do not stipulate that candidates system. The regulations for swearing in interpreters do not need to pass the examination in the sub- require candidates to prove any knowledge of the law, courts, ject area of law. The Hessian state exam- or legal systems. This deficit is one that the BDÜ has been ination, which has been revised repeat- working hard to fill for many years now. edly with the assistance of qualified members of the profession and the Criminal Courts BDÜ, has a strong practical orientation. Examining Magistrates For candidates with languages for At a very early stage in the process, namely when the Office which no state examination is offered in of Public Prosecutions decides that there is enough evidence Germany, a procedure has been devel- against a suspect, the suspect is brought before the examining oped in cooperation with the State Board magistrate, who then decides on whether to issue a bench war- of Interpreters and Translators (Ministry rant for the suspect’s arrest or not. This must happen within 24 of Education, Cultural, and Church hours of a suspect being detained by the police. In Germany, Affairs), for assessing their language and, the police conduct investigations under the guidance of the to a limited degree, interpreting skills. Office of Public Prosecutions at the Regional Court. Interpreters are called upon by the police for the interrogation Age. Interpreters must be at least 18 of foreign suspects, but they are not necessarily subject to the years old. same requirements as sworn interpreters. Speed is of the essence here. When the suspect is brought before the examining magis- Personal Reliability. A police clear- trate, an interpreter must be on hand. An attorney, provided the ance certificate is requested of all can- suspect has one at this time, will also sometimes be present. In didates. In addition, non-EU candi- practice, it is up to the police to ensure that the interpreter who dates must prove that they are in pos- was present during the interrogation also appears at this hearing session of the requisite residence and on the bench warrant. A court-appointed defense attorney will be work permits. provided for the trial once the indictment has been served upon the defendant, if defense counsel is necessary (¤ 140 StPO) and Once the above requirements have if the defendant still does not have an attorney of his own. The been met, the President of the Regional defense counsel named by the defendant will then be appointed. Court swears in the interpreter. Subse- In practice, a “public defender” is appointed prior to the first quently, the interpreter is entitled to call habeus corpus proceeding, after the suspect has spent three himself a “generally sworn interpreter months in detention pending the investigation. of the...language(s) for the courts and General policy in Hessen is to choose a different interpreter notaries in the state of Hessen.” An for the trial, the rationale being that the interpreter will then interpreter is not authorized to certify not be influenced by any previous contact with the case. In the correctness or completeness of a practice, this only applies to cases involving languages like translation prepared by him, as this is French or English, where the pool of interpreters is large reserved for certified translators. Each enough. Otherwise, the same interpreter is likely to be interpreter receives a certificate con- involved in all stages of the proceedings, and will also be firming that he has been sworn in for asked to translate the indictment. the purpose of being able to produce this certificate on request. Technically, Criminal Courts this would be one way of checking the Criminal courts are responsible for criminal matters, i.e., qualifications, albeit indirectly, of court cases against one or more defendants accused of committing interpreters, but rarely do judges ask an offense, which can be a Verbrechen (crime) or Vergehen for proof. Notaries, on the other hand, (misdemeanor). Verbrechen are punishable with imprisonment are usually more cautious when calling of not less than one year, while Vergehen are punishable by a upon the services of an interpreter. fine or imprisonment of less than one year.

24 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Figure 1 For minor misdemeanors, the court of first instance will be the local court, a) Minor misdemeanors consisting of a professionally trained Judge judge, a prosecutor, a court clerk to take Local Court notes and otherwise assist the judge, and

➡➡ possibly a defense attorney. There is no court reporter, so the proceedings are not Appeal on the facts of the case recorded word-for-word. (This is prob- ➡ ably one of the reasons why the courts have been able to avoid insisting on Small Criminal Division qualified interpreters in every case.) Lay Judge, Judge, Lay Judge There is also no jury. The judge runs the Regional Court

➡ trial; he asks most of the questions and dictates a summary of the testimony or Appeal on points of law other results to the clerk. Occasionally, a statement made by a witness or the defendant will be dictated for the record Criminal Division–Court of Appeal word-for-word. Witnesses are not sworn Judge, Presiding Judge, Judge Higher Regional Court in prior to testifying, but may have to swear to the truth of their testimony after the fact if requested by any party to the b) Serious misdemeanors and some crimes proceedings. (However, they are warned Criminal Court with Lay Judges ahead of time of the penalties for per- Lay Judge, Judge, Lay Judge juring themselves.) Regional Court

➡ In all other cases the judge will be assisted by lay judges. These consist of Appeal on the facts of the case German citizens in good standing ➡ selected from a list of lay judges pro- posed by a committee. They do not Large Criminal Court have any legal training, but have the Lay Judge, Judge, Presiding Judge, Judge, Lay Judge same right to ask questions that judges Regional Court do during the trial and equal votes ➡ regarding the judgment. See Figure 1 for an outline of the Appeal on points of law ➡ courts and courts of appeal for various types of offenses: German law also distinguishes Criminal Division–Court of Appeal Judge, Presiding Judge, Judge between young persons (14-18 years) Higher Regional Court and young offenders (18-21 years at the time of the crime), and in certain c) Special misdemeanors and major crimes cases, the trials will be held before a juvenile court judge instead of a crim- Large Criminal Court inal court judge. Lay Judge, Judge, Presiding Judge, Judge, Lay Judge Regional Court ➡ Other Courts Courts for which interpreters are Criminal Court—Court of Appeal summoned and paid by the court in Judge, Judge, Presiding Judge, Judge, Judge Germany are: Federal Supreme Court Continued on p. 26

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 25 The Challenges of Working as a Court Interpreter in Germany Continued

¥ Labor courts (Arbeitsgerichte) qualified interpreters, but because many persons without any ¥ Social courts (which govern matters training whatsoever are allowed to work as interpreters, merely pertaining to social security and because they speak German and their native language, the unemployment insurance) status of court interpreters in court is generally pretty low. Indi- ¥ Administrative courts (cases involving vidual interpreters having a thorough knowledge of not only the asylum-seekers form the bulk of the languages involved but also the law and court systems, and who work here) are able to provide simultaneous interpretation, have an obvious ¥ Family courts (domestic issues) advantage once hired. Unfortunately, an issue that has become increasingly important in recent years, due to the influx of large Another court that requires the ser- numbers of migrants and other pressures, is the fee paid to vices of interpreters is the Federal interpreters and expert witnesses. Also, the ability to come to Patent Court based in Munich. In civil court at a moment’s notice is sometimes just as important, in the cases involving corporations, however, eyes of the court, as having the requisite skills and capabilities. the parties are responsible for hiring Outside of court, the status of court interpreters tends to be and paying for their own interpreters. higher, because people automatically assume that they are Here, interpreters have the possibility familiar with the court systems of both countries, the laws, the to negotiate their fees without recourse terminology, and so forth. to the Gesetz über die Entschädigung von Zeugen und Sachverständigen Techniques (ZSEG), the act pertaining to compen- The techniques required of interpreters are simultaneous sation for experts and witnesses. interpretation into the defendant’s language (“whispering”), consecutive interpretation, and occasionally sight interpretation. Notaries As a rule, there are no microphones or other technical aids for Notaries are qualified and practicing the interpreter, except in major cases involving multiple defen- lawyers who are appointed for life to act dants (with or without different languages), although some of as a notary. Notaries require sworn the newer courtrooms now have one or two rooms with proper interpreters because they draft and facilities. Generally, the interpreter sits in the defendant’s box authenticate contracts of all kinds, next to the defendant during the trial, which, in my opinion, has including articles of incorporation and a negative impact on how the judge and public prosecutor see other documents where the parties may the interpreter. The defense counsel is normally seated behind be foreigners. Documents authenticated the interpreter, making hearing somewhat difficult. by them may be produced in court or elsewhere as evidence. Notaries also Working Conditions serve as depositories for the original As a rule, interpreters are not given any information what- copies of all public documents they soever about the trial ahead of time, other than that contained draft. Notaries are generally more in the summons, (the name of the defendant, a brief designa- careful about whom they employ, and tion of the crime, the case number, the court, and the date and are more willing to provide drafts and place of the hearing). The case number occasionally discloses other information ahead of time. more information to experienced interpreters. Frequently, the indictment will have been translated by somebody else, so Role of the Interpreter interpreters are unable to take advantage of this opportunity to Status familiarize themselves with the case. Generally, vague Germany is a country of immigra- responses are given in answer to questions for more informa- tion, although many German politi- tion about the case, except possibly in the case of medical evi- cians still do not wish to accept this dence. Nevertheless, it is always a good idea to try to obtain fact. The list of languages for which the more information ahead of time. Once interpreters have estab- (minimum) rates for court translations lished a reputation for being reliable, there is more willingness and interpretations are set covers 46 to provide such additional information. The biggest drawback languages, ranging from Albanian to to this system is that a young interpreter does not have enough Wolof. There is a large demand for input to decide whether to accept or reject the assignment.

26 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Additional information can be found on the wall outside the desired, then inform the defendant, and room where the hearing is scheduled to take place, such as the finally provide a succinct explanation to name of the judge(s), lay judges (if any), defense counsel and clarify the misunderstanding. prosecutor, and how much time has been allotted for the The interpreter’s task is often made hearing. In Germany, a major trial may last many months, more difficult in situations where the because the court will only meet twice or three times a week in judge has learned English and/or one particular case. In major cases, however, interpreters are French at school, and thus tends to usually informed of the scheduled dates ahead of time. It is monitor the production to check his legitimate to ask for a copy of the indictment just before the understanding of the vocabulary. The hearing begins. The judge or defense counsel will occasionally judge might occasionally even have a written translation of the indictment. address a foreigner directly, and then Unless the defendant or his counsel protests, English inter- interpret the question and answer to preters frequently have cases involving African defendants others present. from countries where English is an official language. They can The interpreter might be called also face a situation where the defendants may be able to speak upon to interpret for two or more some English, but not be able to understand the legal concepts defendants, involving simultaneous or English legal terminology, unless the interpreter adjusts the interpretation, and then interpret the register accordingly. (The same applies to French and Fran- defendant’s responses consecutively. cophone Africans and, for example, to different dialects of Chi- The testimony of witnesses is again nese). To adjust the register, the interpreter will have to deter- interpreted simultaneously, which can mine, in the space of a few minutes, how much English the mean having to change register very defendant understands if given the opportunity to do so. quickly, or having to deal with legal or However, the question of whether an interpreter is permitted other specialized terminology. Inter- to adjust the register is controversial. The conventional opinion preting is a very taxing activity, and so held by many qualified court interpreters is that the interpreter interpreters must insist on breaks. may not simplify the language, and must maintain the original Another problem is the way the register and terminology used, while others insist that the for- judge or others address questions to the eigner must be given the chance to understand what is hap- defendant or to non-German witnesses. pening. Qualified interpreters will also interpret everything, Instead of asking direct questions, such although until fairly recently the German courts were of the as “Where were you last night?” they opinion that this was not necessary or required, and that it was will say: “Ask him where he was the sufficient to simply provide the tenor of the indictment, the tes- night before.” It is up to the interpreter timony of any witnesses called, the judgment, and the main to suggest that the questioning would grounds for the judgment. proceed faster and more smoothly if A breakdown in communication due to the different socio- direct questions were asked. cultural backgrounds of the players (e.g., judge/foreigner) is Very few courtrooms in Hessen fairly common. One reason is that judges tend to express them- today have facilities for simultaneous selves in ways that cannot necessarily be understood by persons interpretation. For example, there are without any legal training, so a foreigner will have difficulty currently none in Wiesbaden (270,000 understanding the interpretation of the indictment even if it is inhabitants). Most of the court build- impeccable. Or the defendant does not understand or misunder- ings are old and the acoustics are bad. stands the procedure of German courts (e.g., formal questions by Sometimes there will be more than the presiding judge, such as “Do you wish to make a statement one interpreter in more than one lan- and answer questions concerning the charges levied against guage, and they will have to try not get you?” or “Do you want the witness to swear to his testimony?”). in each other’s way. In this situation, the interpreter should give a brief explanation, A foreigner who does not under- but only after informing the judge of this intention. stand German is entitled to have the There are other situations which also make it necessary for an court’s written judgement translated interpreter to intervene if he has the requisite knowledge. How- ever, the interpreter must first ask the court if an explanation is Continued on p. 28

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 27 The Challenges of Working as a Court Interpreter in Germany Continued

into a language that he understands, 2000, in conjunction with an event honoring the role of the but general practice is to interpret the interpreters in the Nuremberg War Trials. judgment rendered, as well as the The BDÜ has also been active in trying to improve the main grounds for this judgment. working conditions and the wages of translators and inter- Under German law, a foreigner does preters by providing its input to revisions of the respective not have any right to a written explana- laws governing how interpreters and translators are paid. The tion of the appeals in his native lan- BDÜ has also attempted to establish guidelines for court guage. However, there can be legal interpreters covering the acceptance/rejection of an assign- consequences to this, so the courts try ment, preparation, working conditions, selection of tech- to avoid problems by allowing the niques, and content. These proposed guidelines were drafted interpreter to interpret the notice of by Dr. Christiane-Jacqueline Driesen of Hamburg and were appeal or the main points after the ver- first published in the BDÜ’s journal, the MDÜ, in the dict has been given, with or without the November/December 1989 issue, but they have not been offi- presence of the judge(s). Very few of cially accepted. Another attempt will be made in the fall of the standard forms have been trans- this year. lated into other languages. The BDÜ works closely with the majority of the universi- ties and colleges as well, for example, by providing instructors The Role of the BDÜ for certain subjects or by inviting students to attend workshops. One of the major roles of the BDÜ However, more needs to be done, not only by the BDÜ,but has been to conduct various seminars also by individual interpreters. and workshops, usually on a local/ regional level, to provide further References training to interpreters. One of the best Allgemeine Vereidigung und Verpflichtung von Dol- attended seminars recently was with metscherinnen und Dolmetschern und Ermächtigung und the local police in Frankfurt. In the Verpflichtung von Übersetzerinnen und Übersetzern, RdErl. past, there have been many seminars d. MdJ v. 1.11.1994 (3162-iI/6-648/94)—JMBl. S. 495. dealing with the subject of legal trans- lation. In fact, the BDÜ played a cru- Creifelds, Carl. Rechtswörterbuch. 14. Auflage, C. H. Beck, cial role in the development of guide- Muenchen, 1997. lines on the preparation of certified translations, which were adopted by Driesen, Dr. Christiane-Jacqueline, “Vorschläge für die Erstel- the Hessian Ministry of Justice. On lung von Richtlinien für das Dolmetschen vor Gericht,” in February 16-17, 2001, Hessen will MDÜ Nr. 6 (November/December 1989, pp. 7-9.) hold a meeting for court interpreters to discuss issues of ethics, as well as Jessnitzer, Kurt. Dolmetscher: ein Handbuch für die Praxis der what judges expect and what defense Dolmetscher, Übersetzer und ihrer Auftraggeber im Gerichts-, attorneys want. There will also be a Beurkundungs- u. Verwaltungsverfahren. Cologne: Carl Hey- lecture on the written translation of manns Verlag KG, 1982, (out of print). legal texts out of German. There have also been a number of national confer- Seminar-Mappe, 5. völlig überarbeitete und erweiterte ences for court interpreters and trans- Auflage, Juni 1995, Berufsgruppe “Öffentlich bestellte lators. The next conference will be bzw. vereidigte Dolmetscher und/oder ermächtigte Über- held at Nuremberg on November 6-7, setzer” im Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer e.V. (BDÜ), Landesverband Saar e.V.

Survey conducted by Barbara Mueller-Grant and Paul Fischler See Page regarding the practice of summoning interpreters and trans- lators through agencies by the courts in Hessen in for complete4 membership October/November 1998. benefits

28 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Italian Translations: To Edit and How to Edit—This Is the Question

By Carmela Pacchioni

hen I started working as a translator in 1986, pronoun agreement, tense sequence, and “proofreading” and “editing” were words mostly again typographical errors. W unheard of in the Italian translation market. Most of us typed our translations using manual or electronic type- Technical editing: Involves looking at all writers that would allow us to save and possibly spell-check or technical aspects, such as a company’s edit only a limited amount of characters. Those translation preferred terminology, or terminology tools considerably limited our ability to make changes once the research and units of measurement. words had been written. In a few years things changed considerably. With the advent of the first computers, we realized that we were at liberty to ...The routine we had implemented, change a term or to rephrase sentences without having to spend based on commonsense, turned out to the night retyping the whole document. My partner and I, running a small translation company in be a very valuable and useful tool for northern Italy and still not aware of concepts like “proofreading” training other translators... and “editing,” established a routine that included “reading to- gether” every translation or project that was particularly complex or was meant for one of our best clients. One would translate Copywriting: Usually required in the the job, then we would sit down together to read and discuss it advertising and marketing business, sentence-by-sentence. We looked for missing words or sentences and involves the work of a copywriter and typographical errors, and checked comprehension, termi- who will adapt the text for the Italian nology, consistency, and style. Our small turnover made it pos- market in a post-editing stage. sible to spend quite a lot of time on that, and to deliver more accu- rate translations that made our Italian and international clients Time, Money, and Expectations very happy. The routine we had implemented, based on com- Besides these general definitions, monsense, turned out to be a very valuable and useful tool for there are several aspects which I con- training other translators as well, and in time became an estab- sider important for editing: time, money, lished, much more refined proofreading and editing procedure. and expectations.

Some Definitions Time: The time required to edit a trans- Nowadays, editors are in big demand in the Italian transla- lation can vary widely based on several tion industry, and almost no translation company would simply factors. This is why I consider editing by take a text from a translator and deliver it to the client without the word a sort of risky business, unless at least proofreading or editing it. Nonetheless, editing is a it is done in ongoing projects and when very broad concept worth discussing in detail so as to prevent working with translators whom the misunderstanding and unpleasant surprises. Based on my editor is familiar with. Time for editing experience, the process can involve several levels depending is always scant and should be carefully on the time and price framework and company policies, which planned by the project manager. I con- usually require the work of only one or two people (the proof- sider 1,500-2,000 edited words per hour reader and/or the editor). a good rough estimate for Italian, and use it as a reference to plan my work. Proofreading: Involves looking at alphabetical errors, format, numerical sequences, and typographical errors. Money: How much is a translation company/client willing to spend to Comparison proofreading: Involves looking at added or omitted have a translator’s work edited? If they words/sentences, alphabetical order, format, numbers, numerical work on a tight budget and strive for sequences in numbered lists, and typographical errors. competitiveness more than quality, the answer is not much. Conversely, if Language editing: Involves looking at abbreviations and your client is aware of the difference acronyms, capitalization, consistency, grammar, general style, meaning, punctuation, register, syntax, spelling, subject/verb and Continued on p. 30

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 29 Italian Translations: To Edit and How to Edit—This Is the Question Continued

editing can make in terms of quality preferred terminology and style to be followed rather than re- and a company’s image, he or she may created. Most clients would be very willing to help, if they just be willing to spend more. understood that having that list of terms approved by their Italian branch can make the difference between an excellent and an Expectations: A frog can only turn into inaccurate translation. a prince in fairy tales. In reality, despite The editor is the last link of a long chain and should be one’s efforts, a good editor sometimes chosen carefully, but careful project management is essential can only improve a bad translation to a to start on the right foot. Choosing the right translator, pro- certain extent. Before editing, always viding a glossary and/or a list of preferred terminology and try to understand exactly what the client style, asking and getting feedback from the client, and passing expects from you. If the file announced all this information to the editor is the key to success. as a simple, general description trans- lated by a knowledgeable professional How to Choose (For Translation Companies) turns out to be a nightmare project full If you are a translation company looking for an Italian of mistakes, do not hesitate to contact editor, carefully evaluate the qualifications of your candi- your client and explain the situation dates and your client’s expectations. A detailed résumé can before going ahead. This will help you tell much about the editor’s work experience, but checking decide what to do, and will spare you the references is sometimes more useful. Choose the right some headache in the billing stage. editor for the job. Test new editors on short assignments to evaluate their performance for larger projects and get feed- Who qualifies? back from your client. In my opinion, editors should be Make sure the editor has at least most of the characteristics excellent, knowledgeable, native-speaking I indicated in the “Who qualifies?” section above, and knows professionals, well-experienced in the the subject field. Stay away from those who can edit in all field they are expected to edit, with an fields, don’t know exactly what editing means but promise to eye for details and consistency, and have do their best, and can’t remember the last time they went to the ability to make quick and defensible Italy if they live abroad. There are only a few similarities decisions. They should know what to between English and Italian. Loan translations, awkward look for, and be humble enough to syntax, and incorrect terminology can be an easy pitfall for accept that they can’t rephrase every Italian translators and editors who are rarely exposed to their single acceptable sentence just because mother tongue in their native country. On the other hand, they they like it better the other way round. might have a better knowledge of the English language and As far as I know, there is no such thing culture. Try to leverage all these aspects. as a course that you can take to become Don’t be disappointed if the edited translation is very sim- an editor of Italian translations. Most ilar to the original one. In most cases, this simply means you editors learn their job by working in the chose a good, professional translator. field, starting as in-house translators and acquiring the necessary skills by How to Edit (For Italian Editors) working side by side with fellow senior Most of you know exactly what to do. These are just a few translators/editors and clients. I believe tips based on my experience (Also see “Some General Tips for the feedback one receives from both Editing” on pages 31, 32, and 33). sides is invaluable to provide a climate of mediation between these two very ¥ Discuss time, money, and expectations with your client. different worlds. Most translators pro- In most cases, what they expect is comparison proof- vide very good translations, and can reading, plus language and technical editing. Adaptation make your editing job much easier if by a copywriter involves a further stage and additional you just learn how to deal with and costs. Ask precise questions, if necessary, and expect pre- respect them. Sometimes they just tend cise answers. to underestimate a “missing link,” such as the link to the client who expects his Continued on p. 32

30 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Some General Tips for Editing Italian Translations

Acronyms Examples Acronyms do not always remain the same in Italian. English - Italian Look them up in special dictionaries or on the Internet. English < WHO> - Italian If there is no corresponding Italian acronym, explain the English meaning in parenthesis, if applicable. Italian Accents Examples Do not use the apostrophe instead of the accent, and instead of check for the appropriate accent of the letter "e." <è> (third singular person of the verb to be), ; but Pay attention to words that may be confused. (preposition) (third singular person of the verb to give) (reflexive pronoun) (affirmative answer) Some words never have an accent. blu, fa, fu, qua, qui, sta, sto, su. Capitalization Examples Italian has a less widespread use of capital letters than English places, and the first letter of a sentence should be Italian devices, or equipment, as it is often the case in English. Capital letters are used in captions (Figura 1, Tabella 5), Consultare il manuale "Uso e manutenzione di XX". but are not used when referring to manuals, chapters, and Fare riferimento al capitolo "Manutenzione". figures that are not generally preceded by an article. Vedere la figura 1 (or fig. 1) a pagina (or pag.) 26. Do not capitalize letters in Italian: • after a colon or a semicolon • Le caratteristiche sono: velocità, prezzo ecc. • in names of languages and nationalities • inglese, francese, italiano • of days of the week, months • lunedì, marzo. Company Names Examples The use of the article before company names is discretional La FIAT, l’ENEL, la TELECOM. with a tendency to omit it. Despite this, some major Italian companies are always referred to with an article. Date and Time Examples In Italian, hours and minutes are expressed in the 24-hour English <8:15 A.M.> - Italian < 8.15> format, separated by a period. English <8:15 P.M.> - Italian <20.15> The standard Italian date format is different from the US format: “mm-dd-yy” American one. 12.3.2000 means March 12, 2000 in Italian format: “dd-mm-yy” Italian and December 3, 2000 in American English. Do not use thousand separators in years. L’anno 2000. Il 1942. Numbered and Bullet Lists Examples Numbered and bullet lists are usually introduced by a main clause (complete or incomplete sentence) ending with a colon. The first word of each item after the colon is not capitalized. Items made of words and not forming a complete sentence are Gli aspetti principali da considerare sono: listed in succession without punctuation. The last item terminates • tempo with a period. • costo • livello di qualità. Items forming a complete sentence are listed in succession Per evitare ritardi nelle consegne si prega di rispettare separated by a semicolon. la procedura seguente: • verificare la disponibilità del materiale a magazzino; • verificare con l’incaricato la fattibilità del progetto; • monitorare costantemente lo stato di avanzamento del progetto.

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 31 Italian Translations: To Edit and How to Edit—This Is the Question Continued

Some General Tips for Editing Italian Translations Continued

Numbers Examples While English uses a period to express a decimal point, Italian English <1.5 miles> - Italian <1,5 miglia> uses a comma. As a general rule for numbers, a period in English corresponds English <2.5 hrs> - Italian <2,5 ore> to a comma in Italian and vice versa. English <15,000 $> - Italian <15.000 $> Punctuation Examples Punctuation marks immediately follow the word and are not Leggere attentamente le istruzioni, aprire la confezione e preceded by a blank space. verificare che contenga: il materiale richiesto, i ricambi concordati, il tagliando di garanzia. Avete letto attentamente le istruzioni? An ellipsis is indicated by three dots. Disse che me lo avrebbe detto dopo… Words or sentences in parenthesis are not preceded nor followed Fare un elenco del materiale (viti, dadi, chiavi). by blank spaces. The period is always placed outside. Exclamation marks are quite rare in Italian, especially in technical English - Italian documentation, and should be omitted. English - Italian Standard Translations, Abbreviations, and Symbols Examples This is a list of terms appearing in most technical documentation Best before = Scadenza / Scade: / Da consumarsi for which an official Italian translation already exists. Preferibilmente entro: (food) Caution = Attenzione Danger = Pericolo Important = Importante Instructions for Use = Istruzioni per l’uso Note = Nota Notice = Avviso Precautions = Precauzioni or Avvertenze (medical) Use before = Scadenza (medical) User’s manual = Manuale d’uso Warning = Avvertenza Abbreviations usually end with a period. Do not use a period after Ecc. , cad. , tot. the abbreviations of meters, centimeters, and millimeters. The 5 m – 33 cm – 120 mm abbreviation always follows the number separated by a blank space. This is a list of common abbreviations. Eccetera = ecc. Figura = fig. Figure = figg. Numero = n° or n. Ora = h Pagina = p. or pag. Pagine = pp. or pagg. Most special symbols used in English technical documents # = n° should be localized in Italian. & = e @ = a, presso (unchanged in e-mail addresses!)

¥ Make a copy of the original trans- ¥ If you and your client agree that the time available is not lated file(s). In the end you can com- enough, draw a priority list including all the items that pare the files for a clearer overview. must be absolutely checked or edited. Look for the kind of errors the client or reader is most likely to catch in ¥ Keep track of the actual time spent, the places where they are most likely to be found: titles even when you do editing by the word. and headings, captions and tables, the header and footer, text in capital letters, the first and last line of a ¥ Make sure to go through all the page or paragraph. Check all the items in the table of requested items. If necessary, make contents against the individual headings for chapters and a list and check them off. paragraphs.

32 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Some General Tips for Editing Italian Translations Continued

Units of Measurement Examples Units of measurements should be localized unless indicated other- English wise. Most Italian readers are not familiar with miles, yards, ounces, Italian feet, etc. Refer to a good dictionary for official conversion tables to the metric system (MS), or ask the client to provide the corres- ponding value agreed upon with their Italian branch or distributor. Style Examples These are some very general rules for style: English headlines with a gerund are usually translated in Italian English with a noun or a phrase. The English possessive often sounds Italian or redundant in Italian. The infinitive form of the verb is normally used in technical English documentation. Italian The second plural person is used in less formal documents and English advertising. Avoid using it in manuals or instructions, if not Italian specified by your client.

Short sentences are perfect for technical descriptions. Avoid English Italian

¥ Don’t forget to (automatically) update the table of contents, the necessary qualities to edit some- if applicable. body else’s work. All you need is a list of items to be checked and a stan- ¥ Follow the glossary and/or list of preferred terminology and dard procedure to follow. My list style, if applicable. includes:

¥ Do not make unnecessary changes, do not rephrase every ¥ All the items involved in compar- other sentence, do not add errors. ison proofreading (see above).

¥ Ask questions when in doubt. ¥ Most items included in language and technical editing, depending on ¥ Always spell-check the final document. the case.

¥ Be prepared to defend your choices. ¥ Some time for questions and answers.

¥ Be happy when you happen to edit an excellent transla- ¥ Some time to read the text after a tion job! certain period of time (a few hours, one to two days depending on the Editing Your Own Translations project/deadline). Editing your own translation is an essential part of deliv- ering a good quality job, and can help you develop some of Continued on p. 42

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 33 34 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Mission Impossible—Monty Python in Swedish?

By Monica Scheer

nce upon a time there was a little Swedish girl who make sense to the Swedish viewers and, loved languages very much. She went to the French most importantly, make them laugh. O school in Stockholm and studied French and Italian at I have decided to divide the dif- the university. And during this time she was thinking that she ferent kinds of humor in Monty Python wanted to be a language teacher. But one day she saw a feature into five categories: plays on words, on the TV news where translators were sitting with earphones funny spellings, idioms, culture spe- on translating from a tape recorder. It seemed so interesting cific , and my own creations. that she applied for a job at a Swedish television station, and she got it. First, let me tell you a little about subtitling. As you may ...Our job demands a journalist’s know, foreign TV programs can be conveyed to the viewers dexterity. You have to be able to in two ways: either by subtitling or dubbing. , written text on the screen, is the method used in the Scandi- distinguish quickly what is essential navian countries and in the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, and constantly make an intelligent and Ireland. selection... When you look at a subtitled you will notice that sub- titlers do not translate everything that is being said. That would be an impossibility, because then the subtitles would change so Plays on Words fast on the screen that nobody would be able to read them. Here we have a fascinating scene No. What subtitlers like myself do is to constantly condense from the lives of the hermits. Two her- the dialogue. We have a basic rule for how much of the orig- mits are chatting like housewives on inal dialogue can be rendered. The rule is: What is said in six different ways to decorate a cave. seconds should be expressed in two full lines. And you might say that on average this means we can only cover two-thirds of Mr. Robinson says that moss tends what is really being said. to fall off the cave walls during cold Then we also have a problem of limited space. Each line weather. Mr. Rogers, the hermit at contains 33 characters. We cannot exceed this frame, since our the top, he tried wattles and he came subtitling computers are set for 33 characters. The result is that out in a rash. And there’s me with sometimes you may find an exceptionally good synonym, but half a wall wattled, I mean, what’ll it turns out to be one or two letters too long. Then you have to I do? rewrite the entire subtitle to be able to capture something of the original meaning, but in some other way. In this case, I think that the inspira- The fact that you have to omit a large proportion of the tion for solving the on words words is something that creates problems for literary transla- came from the mere joy of discovering tors who come to us for training. Some of them have difficulty it at all! Fortunately for me, the word in adapting to this method. They are used to faithfully ren- for wattles in Swedish is the composite dering every single part of a sentence, and it breaks their hearts noun ris-flätning (twig-twining). In to be forced to express themselves more briefly, which to them Swedish slang we have the adjective is to “mutilate” the original version. Our job demands a jour- ris-ig, which means that you are nalist’s dexterity. You have to be able to distinguish quickly feeling seedy. So, commenting on the what is essential and constantly make an intelligent selection. rash caused by the wattles, I let my The best experience of all during my 36 years of working for hermit say: “Så risig vill man ju inte Swedish television was to translate Monty Python’s “Flying bli,” meaning “you don’t want to feel Circus,” which turned out to have a kind of humor which coin- that seedy.” cided exactly with my own. There were quite a few in it, and of course those are among the most difficult, but also the Dung: most stimulating, to translate. Translating Monty Python might The next item is a riddle: What’s sound like a kamikaze enterprise, but it turned out to be sheer brown and sounds like a bell? Dung! delight. You really have to use your imagination, think in a new way, and try to find alternative wording for the jokes so they will Continued on p. 36

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 35 Mission Impossible—Monty Python in Swedish? Continued

The Swedish words for the sound of a Table 1: Hospital Sketch bell are ding dång or bing bång. The Swedish word for dung is dynga. In order to make the a little bit easier English Dialogue Swedish Subtitles to understand I divided the word by D: Mr. Burtenshaw? putting a hyphen after dyng-a, hoping B: Me, doctor? 1. –Jag, doktorn? that someone might get the idea. How- D: No. Me doctor, you Mr. –Nej, jag doktorn. Ni ever, I admit that this is not a very Burtenshaw. mr Burtenshaw. good solution. B: My wife, doctor. 2. –Min fru, doktorn… Crunchy Frog: D: No, your wife patient. Me –Nej, er fru patient, jag This particular sketch is one where doctor… doktorn. the police are investigating the manu- facturer of a box of chocolates filled D: Come this way please… 3. –Kom… with all kinds of disgusting things B: Me, sister? –Jag, syster? (lark’s vomit, pus, and so on). I had to use my talent for finding commercially D: No. She sister, me 4. Nej, hon syster, jag catchy names to describe the crunchy doctor, you Mr. Burten- doktorn. chocolate frog. The Swedish word shaw. Knapergroda is almost a literal transla- tion, the Swedish word for crunchy N 2: Dr. Walters? 5. –Doktor Walters… being knaprig, but I had to rearrange it D: Me, nurse. You Mr. –Jag syster. Ni doktor. a little to make it sound as appealing as Burtenshaw, she sister, the original. The word must have left you doctor. an impression on the audience, for a couple of years ago when I told a new N 2: No, doctor. 6. –Inte, doktorn. friend of mine that I had been the D: No doctor? Call ambu- –Ingen doktor? Kalla på Monty Python translator in 1971, she lance, keep warm. ambulans. said: “Oh, was it you who created the S 1: Drink, doctor? word knapergroda?” So it obviously L: Drink doctor, eat sister, caught on!!! cook Mr. Burtenshaw and Subtitle on screen until nurse me. “nurse me” Hospital Sketch: The hospital sketch has a really N 2: You doctor? 7. –Ni doktorn? delirious play on words. A man L: Me doctor, you Mr. –Jag doktorn, hon syster. wanting to see his wife is talking to a Burtenshaw, she nurse. doctor and a nurse. The fun comes from the use of “you” and “me.” In the B: But my wife, nurse… 8. –Men min fru, syster… final line, five words begin with letters D: Your wife not nurse. She –Er fru inte syster. Hon pronounced like the pronoun “you.” In nurse, your wife patient. syster. Swedish, where the equivalent pro- Be patient – she nurse Subtitle on screen until noun is “ni,” I had to find five words your wife. “your wife” beginning with “ni.” Each of those words should have been written as one D: Me doctor, you trecht, 9. * Jag doktorn. Ni trat. Ni word, but I separated them to make it you trillo, * vå. Ni hilism . easier for the viewer (see Table 1). U: That euphemism…Me Ni kotin. Jag doktorn? doctor? Penguin: In this sketch we have two house- *Utrecht, Utrillo wives in front of a television set. One

36 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 says, “What’s on the television?” (where a penguin is sitting). - Burnley? The other one answers, “A penguin!” and then they have a long - Burnley! That’s right. Burnley in discussion about how the penguin got there in the first place. Lancashire. There has been a The other housewife gets so sick of it all that she says “inter- Burnley. course the penguin,” which I interpreted in a nicer (and a lot - Burglary? funnier) way as “F— the penguin!” Also, a nicer way of saying - Yes! Good man! There’s been a “go to hell” in Swedish is “Dra åt skogen!” (Go to the woods). burglary. To make this a little milder I chose “Åt skogsdungen” (to the grove), which is not at all the normal expression. This is a very good example of how you can proceed methodically. I had to Mouse: start with the final result, which was We also have a discussion of the mouse problem, in which the burglary. I had to keep that term. it is argued that eight percent of all men really want to be mice The Swedish word for burglary is and so on. Viewers are shown pictures of different mouse inbrott, but what made people laugh in hangouts, such as the Little White Rodent Room. This parody the original? The fact that the word for of Little Red Riding Hood was relatively easy to solve. The girl inbrott was mixed up with a similar herself is called Rödluvan (Redhood) in Swedish—not much sounding place name. To find a pos- to do about that. Instead of rodent I used the word “mus” sible Swedish place name I went (mouse), which is the Swedish slang word for the female through the entire index of the Royal sexual organ. So Rödluvan och musen was likely to make Swedish Automobile Club Road Map, Swedish people laugh, especially as this construction makes and at last I found Timrå. Here we have them think of the Swedish name for the fairy tale Rödluvan och no alliteration, but you find both the vargen, “Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf.…” vowels “i” and “o,” and the stress in Later on in that sketch a “mouse man” describes what the the word Timrå is exactly the same as mice do when they meet. in inbrott.

You steal some cheese, brie or camembert, or cheddar or Funny Spellings gouda if you are on the harder stuff. Intentional misspellings are a type of joke that are relatively easy to deal Here I translated “on the harder stuff,” with its drug connotation, with. An example would be Verrifast as nermusad (literally “moused down,” as in “drugged down”). Plaine co LTD. The normal Swedish And the man continues: “You might go and see one of those spelling is Jättesnabba Flygbolaget. blue cheese .” At this point you have to be suspicious (a My misspelled version is Gettesnabba precious quality for a translator) and realize that a joke is being Flygbållaget. made on blue films. In Swedish, we have the word o- anständig, which means indecent. I decided to call this kind of Idioms film ost-anständig, replacing the original negative “o-” (Eng- Parrot pushing up the daisies: lish un-) with “ost,” the Swedish word for cheese. In this way No discussion on Monty Python the cheese connotation was saved. would be complete without the dead parrot, the Norwegian Blue. In this Burnley: sketch the customer comes into the pet In this sketch a police inspector has gathered all the family shop to complain: members in the lounge and says: This is a late parrot. It’s a stiff! - Don’t anybody move, there’s been a murder. Bereft of life it rests in peace. If you - A murder? hadn’t nailed it to the perch it would - No, not a murder, no. Almost like a murder, but it begins be pushing up the daisies! with b. - Birmingham? - No, no, no. Continued on p. 38

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 37 Mission Impossible—Monty Python in Swedish? Continued

There is a Swedish expression that violence which is terrorizing the city. Yes, gangs of old might be an equivalent to “rest five feet ladies attacking perfectly fit young men. What are they in it under ground,” but here I wanted to for, these old hoodlums, these layabouts in lace? convey the humor in the British expres- sion, so I invented an expression of my Sociologist: The whole problem of these senile delinquents own, bli kompis med maskarna, lies in their complete rejection of the values of contempo- meaning “making friends with the rary society. They’ve seen their children grow up and worms.” Worms are often mentioned in become accountants, stockbrokers, and even sociologists, Swedish when talking of a buried body. and they begin to wonder: Is it all really...(he disappears down a big hole in the pavement). Culture-Specific A culture-specific issue is when you Young man interviewed: Oh well, we sometimes feel we are have a phenomenon in the culture of to blame in some way for what our Gran’s become. She the source language that has no equiv- used to be quite happy here until she...started on the...cro- alent in the culture of the target lan- chet. Now she can’t do without it; 20 balls of wool a day guage. For instance, the expression sometimes. If she can’t get the wool she gets violent. What “tell Whizzo butter from a dead crab.” can we do about it? Here we have the kind of that require a good knowledge of the In the same sketch we see graffiti made by Hell’s Grannies country in which the action is taking on a wall. It says “Make tea, not love.” This graffiti didn’t have place. Since we had quite a number of to be translated at all, since all the words are very easy, and the British programs on Swedish televi- Swedish people are knowledgeable about English. And that, by sion, I was familiar with the margarine the way, is a direct result of our subtitling, as opposed to dub- slogan “You can’t tell stork from bing, television programs. You can listen to English speech for butter.” In the Monty Python version at least a couple of hours every night, so you learn a lot. the stork had been replaced by another animal (a dead crab). But since we had My Own Creation no commercial radio in Sweden at that And now we come to the last section in my little exposé. time promoting that particular mer- chandise, I had to translate this literally Monica S (slightly silly): and hope that the dead crab would be The inspiration for the above title came from a sketch of an funny enough in itself. election night special, where we get acquainted with four dif- One form of the more intellectual ferent parties: the sensible, the silly, the slightly silly, and the Monty Python humor is the exquisite very silly party. The reporting of votes is just hilarious. I got so parody. In the 1960s, we could often inspired by this sketch that when I put my name in at the end of watch BBC documentaries on Swedish the program I didn’t only write “Monica Scheer,” but added television and became well acquainted “slightly silly” after my name. Of course, it is against our rules with their style of narration and to add something that is not in the original manuscript, but I felt analysis. So when Monty Python came it was in the spirit of the sketch. And, it was noticed by one of in 1970, we were able to enjoy the our TV critics! He wrote: “The translator of Monty Python has story of the Hell’s Grannies. been admirable through the whole series. Now she seized the opportunity of adding a ‘Monty Python effect’ after her name. In This is a frightened city. Over these brackets she put ‘slightly silly.’ It is quite the contrary. A clever houses, over these streets hangs a remark. She poses as slightly silly without being so.” pall of fear. Fear of a new kind of

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38 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Bond Clauses in Spanish Contracts: A Brief Overview

By Leland D. Wright, Jr.

ontractual documents in virtually any language contain bid bond also guarantees that the suc- a number of “standard” clauses which frequently use cessful bidder (adjudicatario) will C terminology or phraseology that has been established actually enter into a contract (celebrar or predetermined either by law or tradition (commonly called un contrato) under the specified and/or “boilerplate” in English legalese). This is certainly true of negotiated terms and conditions. This Spanish-language agreements, as will be illustrated below. type of bond is sometimes called a These boilerplate clauses, not all of which are found in garantía de contrato/contratación in every agreement, deal with aspects such as arbitration, force Spanish, but this term is more synony- majeure, taxation, communications between the parties, gov- mous with the kind of bond described erning law or jurisdiction (or both), consideration and manner in the next paragraph. of payment, liability, penalties, insurance, assignment, termi- nation of the contract, and amendment of the contract, to men- tion only a few of the most common types. ...Bond clauses in Spanish-language Many agreements in which one party contracts to supply contracts...vary widely in their length, goods and/or render services to another party typically include a clause that stipulates what kind of financial guarantee(s) will content, and complexity, but they all be given by the supplier/contractor for ensuring full compli- share similar characteristics... ance (fiel cumplimiento in Spanish) with the terms and condi- tions of the agreement. This type of guarantee is generally called a “bond” in English, but this sense of the word should The most common type of contract- not be confused with its meanings in other contexts, despite the related bond is the “performance fact that there are close semantic links among all of the various bond.” The usual Spanish equivalent is meanings and the different synonyms or near-synonyms of the garantía/fianza de [fiel] cumplimiento. word “bond” (e.g., surety, security, bail, pledge, etc.). Note that in this phrase the Spanish This article will discuss the various types of bonds com- adjective is “empty” from the transla- monly found in Spanish-language contractual texts, with an tion standpoint because English does emphasis on the key terminology and principal characteristics. not say “faithful performance.” Should It is based on the preconference seminar I conducted at the the supplier/contractor fail to comply 2000 ATA Annual Conference in Orlando. with any of the contract’s provisions In a contractual context, the two most frequently used (incumplimiento in Spanish; “non- Spanish equivalents for “bond” are fianza and garantía,the compliance” or “non-performance” in latter being an obvious cognate of the English noun “guarantee” English), which will be considered a and clearly related to the word “warranty.” The term aval is also breach of contract, the other party will occasionally found in some legal texts, especially when a be entitled to collect the full amount of banking institution is involved as the guarantor (garante). the bond (hacer efectiva la garantía) Although there are numerous synonyms for these three terms, or, in some cases, draw down on the they are rarely found in Spanish contract documents. bond’s face value as compensation for Bonds may serve several different purposes and take a non-compliance. In this sense, then, a number of forms. Bond clauses in Spanish-language contracts bond is just a kind of insurance policy, (particularly those from Latin America) vary widely in their and in fact some contracts specify that length, content, and complexity, but they all share similar char- the bond should or may be furnished in acteristics which are described in the following paragraphs. the form of an insurance policy (póliza As indicated above, bonds may be required for various rea- de seguros). sons. Even before a contract is awarded and as part of the The following are three examples of request for proposals process in a competitive bidding situation phraseology found in Spanish-language (licitación), bidders (proponentes/licitantes/oferentes/postores) performance bond clauses. are often asked to furnish a guarantee (otorgar/constituir/pre- sentar una garantía/fianza) stating that they will not withdraw or change their bids. This is called a “bid bond” in English and (usually) a garantía de la oferta in Spanish. In many cases, the Continued on p. 40

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 39 Bond Clauses in Spanish Contracts: A Brief Overview Continued

“Garantía...de Cumplimiento de Con- equivalent to the amount of the advance payment. If the con- trato...que se consolidará a favor del tractor fails to deliver the goods covered by the advance pay- COMPRADOR en caso de incum- ment, the buyer can collect the amount of the bond. The lan- plimiento...” (Chile) guage found in the Chilean text below provides a good example of such a stipulation. “El VENDEDOR deberá obtener y entregar al COMPRADOR...una “En conformidad al recién mencionado Contrato, el COM- garantía de cumplimiento...en la PRADOR deberá efectuar un pago anticipado de..., corres- forma de una póliza de seguros o pondiente al 30% (treinta por ciento) del valor total del garantía bancaria...” (Colombia) Contrato, suma que el Banco de...(Garante) reembolsará en caso de incumplimiento por el VENDEDOR de la entrega “Carta de Garantía Bancaria irrevo- de los suministros y servicios técnicos de acuerdo con lo cable otorgada por...a...(benefi- estipulado en el Contrato.” ciario) en caso de incumplimiento por...(principal) de las obligaciones “La presente Garantía caducará una vez que el COMPRADOR resultantes del Contrato...” (Chile) reciba el material adquirido a su plena satisfacción.”

The third kind of bond clause typi- Yet another type of bond that might be required generally cally found in Spanish-language applies to situations where the contractor undertakes to pur- agreements covers the quality of the chase services from the other party and to pay for those ser- goods to be supplied or the services to vices on a regular basis (e.g., monthly invoices for services be rendered. Although Spanish calls rendered). This kind of bond is usually (and logically) called a this a garantía, English would most garantía de pago in Spanish (“payment guarantee” in English). likely prefer the term “warranty” and The following excerpt from a Mexican document provides an not “bond” in many cases. Listed illustration of the language used. below are two brief excerpts from Latin American contract documents to “El CLIENTE se obliga a contratar a favor de la EMPRESA, illustrate the language used. una carta de crédito...que permita pagos o disposiciones par- ciales hasta por un monto de...para garantizar el cumplimiento “Garantía que otorga el PROVE- de pago de los servicios objeto del presente Contrato.” EDOR o el fabricante...de que todos los bienes son originales, nuevos, There are basically four ways that a bond can be furnished. están libres de defectos y operan One type, the insurance bond, described previously, is simply perfectamente.” (Chile) an insurance policy and is therefore issued by an insurance company or bank that specializes in this kind of business. “La Garantía...cubrirá el cumplim- Whenever the beneficiary of the policy has a claim (siniestro), iento de todas las obligaciones del it may collect all or part of the policy’s face value. Below is an VENDEDOR bajo este Contrato, example taken from a Uruguayan text that sets out one of the incluyendo, sin limitación, la cal- provisions for an insurance bond. idad del servicio...” (Colombia) “PAGO DE LA INDEMNIZACIÓN Sometimes a contractual agree- Artículo 11¡ÐProducido el siniestro en los términos del ment will stipulate that the contractor Artículo anterior, el Banco procederá a hacer efectivo al is to receive an advance payment Asegurado el importe garantizado dentro de los treinta días (pago anticipado/anticipo) or one or hábiles de ser requerido por el Asegurado.” more progress payments during the life of the contract. In these cases, an Another common type of bond is the bank bond (garantía advance payment bond (garantía por bancaria), which, as the term indicates, is issued by a banking el anticipo) may be required. The institution. Typically, the party furnishing the bond (i.e., the advance payment bond is usually contractor) pays a specified sum to a bank, which then opens

40 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 an account in the name of the beneficiary (i.e., the other party “La carta de crédito permanecerá to the contract). In the event of default/breach of contract/non- vigente durante todo el tiempo en el performance on the part of the contractor, the beneficiary can que esté vigente el presente Contrato collect or draw down on the balance in the account. If the latter y no podrá ser cancelada sin el con- situation occurs, the contractor must replenish (restablecer) sentimiento previo y por escrito de la the bond’s value to the original amount (cuantía/valor orig- EMPRESA, pudiendo la EMPRESA inal) and make sure that it is kept in effect (mantener válida y cobrar el importe de la carta de en vigencia) for the life of the contract or some other time crédito en el caso de que el CLIENTE period. The example below from a Colombian document illus- no haya cubierto a la EMPRESA trates this requirement. cualquier cantidad adeudada con- forme al presente Contrato, bastando “La Garantía de Cumplimiento debe incluir una disposi- para ello con una declaración de ción en virtud de la cual, en caso de que el COM- incumplimiento por parte de la PRADOR haga utilizaciones bajo la misma, la cantidad EMPRESA, en la que conste que el utilizada será automáticamente restablecida de tal forma CLIENTE no ha pagado, en cuyo que la cuantía de la Garantía de Cumplimiento nunca sea caso el CLIENTE o el emisor de la menor de....” carta de crédito deberán reponer el importe de la misma para que ésta Bank bonds may be furnished in several ways, such as cash continúe vigente con el monto solici- (dinero/en efectivo), a regular bank deposit (depósito), a certi- tado hasta el término del Contrato.” fied check (cheque certificado), electronic transfer (transfe- (Whew, what a mouthful!!) rencia en el Banco/giro bancario), a letter of credit (carta de crédito), or government securities (valores/títulos del Estado). Even a cursory reading of this syn- In addition to the previously cited examples, the following four tactically dense 121-word sentence excerpts below are from an Argentine document. (not at all atypical of Spanish legal prose) reveals that it contains five “FORMAS DE CONSTITUCIÓN DE LAS GARANTêAS major “statements” and several sec- Mediante dinero, depósito y/o cheques certificados o trans- ondary ideas. The major statements ferencia en el Banco...a la orden de....” are: 1) the letter of credit (L/C) must remain in effect for the life of the con- “Mediante fianza o aval bancario que no contendrá reservas, tract; 2) the L/C can’t be cancelled limitaciones, restricciones o salvedades...” without the company’s prior written consent; 3) the company can collect “En Títulos de la Deuda Pública Nacional...que se acredi- the L/C amount whenever the client tarán por su valor nominal, correspondiendo los intereses al fails to pay any sums owed under the titular, los que no acrecentarán la garantía.” contract; 4) the L/C can be collected whenever the company issues a state- “Mediante seguro de caución de contratación, otorgado por ment saying that the client has failed to una Compañía de Seguros...” make a payment; and 5) if the com- pany does collect or draw down on the Finally, as translators of Spanish-language contracts and L/C, the client has to replenish the L/C other legal texts know, the degree of syntactical complexity so that it retains its full value for the found in bond clauses varies widely, from very simple, life of the contract. straightforward sentences to extremely dense and terminologi- Although it is certainly true that cally complex constructions, such as the two that follow. The English legalese may at times be just first example is taken from a Mexican document and demon- as dense as this Spanish example, strates the type of legal text that poses a real challenge to modern English writers tend to use Spanish-to-English translators of legal texts.

Continued on p. 42

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 41 Bond Clauses in Spanish Contracts: A Brief Overview Continued

much simpler structures. Here, imitating In this case, although the syntax is not overly dense and the source language would be an inap- the sentence is less than 60 words long, it is apparent that propriate style to use in the target lan- much of the terminology and phraseology has a fairly high guage. Instead, it seems better to divide register, even for “normal” Spanish (e.g., finiquitarse con the five major statements into separate resultado infructuoso, intimación de pago de la multa, sentences in the translation, thereby fecha cierta, recepción por parte del Banco, siempre que no improving the comprehensibility of the se hubiera opuesto excepciones). The usual recommenda- text for the target-language reader (who tion that I offer my students when they have to deal with may very well not be a lawyer) and this kind of language is to “dumb down” the Spanish and reducing the chance of information seek to express the message in simpler, lower-register overload. Nobody enjoys having to stop terms, and then to convey that message in the target lan- and re-read a piece of turgid prose sev- guage at the same level. If appropriate or necessary, the reg- eral times in order to grasp the meaning ister of the translation could then be raised, although it will and message of the text. probably not be as high as the source language because that The second example demonstrates would yield an unnatural style, unwelcome to the target-lan- the terminological complexity that guage reader. appears in an insurance bond from In conclusion, as evidenced by the various examples cited, Uruguay. it is important to understand the meaning and purpose of bond clauses in Spanish-language contracts in order to convey the “Artículo 10¡ÐEl siniestro queda message accurately in the target language (English in this par- configurado al finiquitarse con resul- ticular case). Spanish-to-English translators must therefore be tado infructuoso la intimación de familiar with the terminology and phraseology used in con- pago de la multa que debe intentar el tractual documents and particularly in bond clauses. Based on Asegurado contra el Proponente, y my experience, each text presents new linguistic challenges tendrá como fecha cierta la de recep- that force the translator to make a careful analysis of the doc- ción por parte del Banco de la docu- ument and to comprehend the language used in the source text mentación pertinente, siempre que in order to produce an intelligible and meaningful target-lan- no se hubiera opuesto excepciones guage version. de acuerdo a lo establecido en el Artículo que antecede.”

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42 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Legal Translation: A Personal Perspective

By Enéas Theodoro Jr.

wenty years of experience, first at law offices and then mally cover the whole gamut from working as a certified legal translator side by side with finance, accounting, pharmaceuticals, T practicing attorneys (who also moonlighted as certified hospital management, and health care to legal translators), of researching the law, and a brief stint in law the oil industry, computer science, and school—all have taught me that there is no substitute for per- ufology, to name a few. This means that severance and research if you want to be at least reasonably it’s not uncommon to find successful competent in this field. and active translators in Brazil who only Of course, being able to exchange ideas and discuss possible work in one of those broadly defined renditions of legal concepts in another language with bilingual fields. Some are known to be even more lawyers is extremely helpful but seldom feasible. The idea of an specialized and work only in a specific open forum for legal translators, even if only for a particular lan- field, such as finance and accounting. guage, is long overdue. I envision the day when serious workshops Sooner or later, this is bound to happen and lectures on legal translation will be far more common and in the U.S. with the same magnitude. effective than they are now. For the time being, we must strive to Here are some cases where we don’t do our best and never jeopardize quality for the sake of produc- have to take the law into our own hands. tivity. All of the points discussed by John Rock in the June issue of the Chronicle (“Give Me Five! Pointers to Professional Technical Translation,” page 30) also apply in the case of legal translation, ...the U.S. translation market is and should be well taken by any professional translator. presently suffering its growing pains, I was introduced to legal translation work early in my career, when I was fresh out of translation school and my only experi- and will continue to do so until it ence was from doing a few business translations and occasion- eventually develops the specializing ally working as a conference interpreter. To say it was a lesson in humility would be an understatement; certainly it was an eye- trends already strongly felt in a few opener. I must also apologize for focusing on Portuguese/Eng- South American countries and in most lish legal translation, although the quandary of being stuck of western Europe... between a codified or continental system and the common law of our nation is also something our colleagues of other lan- guages have to face in a U.S.-centered global translation market. I feel your pain… Part I A new concept under Brazilian law, Since when are legal translators taking the law into their pain and suffering and punitive damages own hands? have translated into a real pain in the The easy answer? “Objection, Your Honor. Leading the wit- neck for many of us. Old hat in America, ness. Move to strike from the record.” Seriously though, from a terms like danos morais (literally “moral translator’s point of view this is a major problem that stems from damages”), sofrimento e constrangi- the necessarily eclectic nature of our work. As translators, we’re mento (loosely “pain and suffering”), expected to translate everything (a friend of mine was once asked and danos punitivos (literally “punitive by her boss if translating was not just like typing in another lan- damages,” often followed by a legal guage). As legal translators, we’re expected to translate anything explanation) have somewhat recently from a complex appellate court ruling to a rather “simple” entered Brazilian legal language. Some- (famous last words) power of attorney. Whoever heard of any thing to bear in mind, however, is the use lawyer, albeit a shyster, practicing law in all possible legal areas? of “damages” in both American and This ties in with my perception that the U.S. translation market is Brazilian legal language in a dual sense: presently suffering its growing pains, and will continue to do so a) that loss which is sustained by or until it eventually develops the specializing trends already caused to someone, and b) the payment strongly felt in a few South American countries and in most of or compensation owed by the party western Europe. In Brazil, many specialized translation agencies causing such loss. If you bear this in and translators have gained a strong marketing foothold in the broadly defined legal, medical, and technical fields, which nor- Continued on p. 44

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 43 Legal Translation: A Personal Perspective Continued

mind, you’ll know whether to translate Federal Constitution? Or the verbs aforar, ajuizar, postular, etc., danos morais into English as “pain and all of them meaning basically “to file” (usually a suit)? It is up to suffering” or “punitive damages.” us as legal translators to determine whether for the sake of clarity Example: os alegados danos morais = we should not follow a more simple and objective language, such the alleged pain and suffering; a comi- as the one used in U.S. law. The same goes for references to the nação de danos morais = the assessment turma, colegiado, or câmara of an appellate court. All of them of punitive damages; os pleiteados mean a “panel of judges.” By sticking to literalness and/or termi- danos morais = “the pain and suffering nological variety in the same text, we can confuse American legal claimed” or “the punitive damages professionals into trying to figure out which one is the panel, claimed” (obviously, the choice will which is the collegiate body, and which is the chamber (the latter depend on the context). is a mistranslation of câmara, anyway), when they are all one and the same entity. Let’s stick to “panel” throughout. Legal briefs that’ll knock your socks off! To me, the most striking example of context versus true American attorneys are usually (lin- meaning is how “hereunder” often covers many bases as a quali- guistically speaking that is) more objec- fier, e.g., o fornecimento ora previsto (“the supply hereunder” tive, far less verbose, and not quite as rather than “the supply provided for herein”), a licitação objeto do formal as Brazilian lawyers. Contrary to presente (“the bidding hereunder” rather than “the bidding which popular speculation, this is not (in large is the purpose hereof”). Perhaps the best example yet is “the case part) due to pedantism, insidious legal hereunder,” which can be rendered as a hipótese dos autos, a tactics, or a Jurassic and bureaucratically hipótese ora discutida, a hipótese em pauta, and many other Por- corrupt system. The last 10 years or so tuguese expressions. The same examples can be used for other pur- have seen the Brazilian system undergo posefully avoided repetitions: the abstract idea of “case” (as in a considerable change, in many cases emu- case being made in court) is also rendered in Portuguese, in addi- lating successful aspects of the American tion to hipótese,astese, causa, or even caso. So though under- system. Paradoxically, the fact that U.S. standable, in that sense English translations of such terms as law is based on precedent and “custom” “thesis,”“theory,” or “hypothesis” are technically improper. has made it more specific terminology- Other typical examples are the terms suplicante, requerente, wise, perhaps an overreaction to a lack of solicitante, etc., for simply petitioner, or embargante, apelante, codified provisions, aside from obvious recorrente, and agravante for appellant. Where sometimes we cultural and linguistic differences. In can choose between two words (respondent and appellee) in Brazil, on the other hand, curiously English, in Brazil you have a choice of at least four (embar- enough, because most legal concepts and gada, apelada, recorrida, and agravada). principles are specifically codified, attor- These problems are compounded by the fact that many law- neys tend to dwell in their arguments on suits have ramifications and other lawsuits related to them where, the nuances of the legislative language in Portuguese, the parties are referred to (apparently) loosely (statutory provisions) used or the judicial sometimes as either “defendant” or “plaintiff,” or sometimes as interpretation of such language. either “appellant” or “respondent,” in the same document in Add to the above the fact that in seemingly interchangeable fashion. Some people think these are Brazilian Portuguese repetitive vocabu- blatant typographical errors, when in reality the attorney is refer- lary is orthodoxically considered a sign ring to each such party specifically in an often understood or of poor writing style, and what do you underlying context due to those very ramifications and related get? Judicial documents, particularly lawsuits. petitions or legal briefs, that can amount These are some of the major caveats when dealing with judi- to some of the most challenging work in cial papers, but there are many more. This emphasizes the impor- our field. As Portuguese/English legal tance of understanding the context, weighing the pros and cons translators, how many times do we run of being more or less literal in your work, and of taking fewer or into references in the same paragraph of greater risks. However, this is the topic of our next discussion. a petition to the Magna Carta, a Lei Maior (the Higher Law), and other Part II expressions which can only mean the Between a grain of salt and the philosopher’s stone

44 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Ever wondered whether you’re being way too careful in much too odorous for their true identity painstaking research? Whether it’s pointless to dwell further on a to remain concealed. point of terminological contention because “it really doesn’t make Last, I submit to the interested reader much difference” to the overall context? Or whether a formula (or some corrections called for in my last a set thereof) exists for maximizing your earnings by producing article in the Chronicle (“Translating the translations that are fairly accurate and stripped of any frills? Law: When the Medium is not the Mes- If you’ve answered “no” to any of those questions you’ve never sage,” August 1999, page 32). been a legal translator. In fact, both in Brazil and the U.S. many professionals have taken the third conjectured route to extremes Corrections and, through a combination of modern translation software, suf- A mandado de segurança should ferable professional ethics, and/or shortsighted orders from above, indeed be translated as “writ of man- managed to reach unbelievable productivity rates. Naturally, this damus,” since a “writ of certiorari” is not to be condoned. Not only is this a morally unprincipled would be (in Brazil) a specific type of scheme, but it will also eventually have a negative impact on one’s mandado de segurança, as a specific reputation and cause one to lose one’s clients. order from a higher to a lower court Below is some terminology I should have handled with a without involving other authorities. grain of salt when in blissful ignorance I thought I had found the philosopher’s stone. Tribunal de Justiça is not always a State Supreme Court, since the different a) incumbency (incumbência) instead of “obligation,” in an Brazilian states are revamping their indi- oversight of other particular acceptations of “incumbency” vidual judicial systems and some are and the fact that even a key concept such as “obligation” opting for just one Appeals Court, which can appear in a much broader sense; is, for instance, what a Tribunal de Justiça is in the state of Rio de Janeiro. b) using entendimento remansoso (or pacífico, sereno, etc.), literally a “peaceful understanding,” which is correct but not Superior Tribunal de Justiça (Superior ideal in certain cases where an “undisputed holding” (by the Justice Court) is actually Brazil’s High courts) should be preferred; Court for nonconstitutional matters, since constitutional matters are han- c) “legislative power” is much better than the literalness of dled by the Supremo Tribunal Federal “legislative competency”; (Federal Supreme Court). d) “exceptionality” is another one of those words used in dif- ferent connotations, and often “uniqueness” or “unique We Internationalize: nature” (of a case, for instance) is a better translation; Software Documents People e) distribuição da causa por dependência rendered as a “case assigned by relationship” still doesn’t measure up to “assigned as a related case”; f) a contrato administrativo (literally an “administrative con- tract”), being a contract of the (government) Administration, should always be translated as a “government contract.”

The list could go on forever. And although there is no question that a grain of salt is good not just for low blood pressure, of course the proverbial philosopher’s stone has never existed. After all, “mistranslations gilded into a beautifully formatted document with carefully crafted and fluid prose which apparently make sense” (John Rock, op. cit.) will nevertheless sooner or later prove www.echotrans.com • 1-800-756-1101

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 45 Forensic Transcribing and Translating: Who should perform the work?

By Sandro Tomasi

forensic transcript/translation to background noise, clothing rubbing against the microphone, (transcriptlation [author’s own and overlapping voices. All these factors make transcription A word]) is usually ordered by a work a difficult task. When the recording of a conversation is in prosecutor in charge of a criminal case a foreign language, the transcriber/translator adds the human where recordings may contain clandes- process of translation to the equation. Transcriptlation is analo- tine conversations, incriminating or gous to the childhood game “telephone,” where each step of the corroborating statements, and 911 process is susceptible to mistakes. One person may hear one calls. Colloquy is recorded by having thing, another person may hear another, or translate the same phone calls intercepted, bugs placed thing into another. For these reasons, courts have established inside rooms, undercover agents wear guidelines to ensure that the evidence admitted is reliable. wires or, in the case of emergency calls, by the police department. On the The Recording other hand, a defense lawyer may have Judges will hold either suppression or audibility1 hearings a transcriptlation made to disprove or to determine whether tapes may be admitted into evidence. It discredit the prosecutor’s evidence. is well established that the admission of tape recordings at trial rests within the sound discretion of the trial court.2 That dis- cretion presumes, as a prerequisite to admission, that the tapes be authentic, accurate, and trustworthy.3 Moreover, they must ...Transcriptlation is analogous to the be audible and sufficiently comprehensible for the jury to con- childhood game “telephone,” where sider the contents.4 Recordings will be deemed inadmissible if each step of the process is susceptible the “unintelligible portions are so substantial as to render the recording as a whole untrustworthy.”5 When the recordings are to mistakes... in a foreign language, many courts have appointed court inter- preters to determine whether the colloquy is intelligible.

In order to understand who should The Transcript be allowed by the courts to submit their The need for transcripts arises generally from two circum- transcriptlation work, one must begin stances. First, portions of a tape may be relatively inaudible. from square one: the live conversation. Second, without the aid of a transcript, it may be difficult to When it comes to hearing speech, there identify the speakers. In either of these cases, it has been said is no better way to hear what is being that it is within the discretion of the trial court to allow a tran- said than to be present at the time and script to be used by the jury “to assist the jury as it listens to place it is spoken. A person who is lis- the tape.”6 tening to someone speak at a particular Courts have previously suggested that a prior judicial deter- time and place has the benefit of live mination of accuracy is desirable before a transcript is used to acoustics. They are able to position “aid” the jury.7 Although many courts have ruled on whether a their head and body in order to listen transcript is accurate before allowing it to serve as an aid when carefully, and can ask for a repetition or listening to a tape, it is not neccesary to do so. However, the clarification of a statement. pivotal case of United States v. Onori stated that none of the Recordings have none of the afore- cases (reviewed by the court) involve a situation in which the mentioned advantages, and because the defendants alleged specific errors in the government’s tran- whole process from recording to tran- script. Nor do these cases hold that a judicial determination of scription is entirely human, the trans- accuracy is a sine qua non8 of transcript use. Onori concluded criber/translator must be careful to that it is unnecessary for the trial court to decide whether a maintain what was originally said at the transcript is accurate before that transcript is given to the jury, time of the conversation in order to give so long as each side to the dispute is given an opportunity to weight to the evidence in a case. Play- submit a transcript containing its version of a conversation. back of a recording is usually not high The first efforts of the court should be to devise a “stipu- fidelity and colloquy may decrease fur- lated” transcript which all sides to the dispute can agree upon.9 ther in audibility and intelligibility due In cases where the defense and prosecution disagree as to the

46 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 contents of the tape, the proper procedure is for the jury to aid the jury in determining the real receive transcripts of both sides’ versions.10 In addition, each issue presented, the content and side may present their own expert witness to testify as to the meaning of the tape recordings. accuracy of its version or to challenge the accuracy of the other side’s version.11 It is therefore incorrect to think of Courts have been consistent in charging juries that if the transcripts as simply an “aid”— there is a discrepancy between what they hear on a tape and as better lighting fixtures in the what they see on a transcript, they should always go by what courtroom would be an “aid” to the they hear. What follows below is an example of a judge’s jury’s vision of witnesses—and not limiting instructions. as evidence of any kind. They are evidence and, like other evidence, “Now let me tell you, further, that although the lawyers may be admitted for a limited pur- have agreed on this transcript as being accurate, with the pose only. two exceptions I have indicated to you, it is true in this instance, as in all others, that you, the members of the jury, In United States v. Llinas, 603 F.2d are the ultimate deciders of the facts, and let me particu- 506 (1979)—a case involving record- larize what that means in this specific context: ings, mostly in Spanish, in which the defendant argued it was impossible for If at any line of this typed transcript you together hear on the jury to “reconcile the descrepancies the tape something different from what the lawyers have in the recording itself”13—the court agreed it says, it is your hearing that controls, not mine, not stated that the Onori procedure was theirs. They are not the triers of fact, neither am I. You are. well suited to cases where the tran- Now, I am not saying that this will happen, but it could script is an English translation of a happen, because if my information is correct, some of these foreign-language conversation. Such a portions of the tape are not easy to hear or easy to decipher procedure does not tie a defendant to an with your ears, and it is your senses and your judgement “official” transcript prepared by the about this that ultimately control, and that applies here and prosecution, nor does it “usurp” the everywhere in the case...if there are any exceptions to that, factfinder’s function. If there is a dis- it is my job to tell you about them.”12 pute as to the contents of a foreign- language recording, the burden will lie The Translation with the respective parties to present So what happens when the recording before a jury is in a transcripts or other evidence to support foreign language? How is a jury to be the trier of fact when it their version of the conversation. cannot understand what is being said? Once more, we turn to Other evidence to support tran- United States v. Onori where, even though the case at hand did scripts can be presented to the court not involve recordings in a foreign language, it stated that, in through witness testimony (those its opinion, transcripts were more than just an “aid” in listening people who were present and/or a part to the recordings. of the conversation when it took place). However, when the transcript contains We believe that the use of a transcript as a guide is analo- a translation into English of conversa- gous to the use of expert testimony as a device aiding a jury tions spoken in a foreign language, the in understanding other types of real evidence. For example, proponent must introduce the testi- an issue in a case may be whether John Doe’s purported mony of a qualified witness to authen- signature on a document is actually John Doe’s signature. ticate and verify the translation.14 Two handwriting experts may disagree, and if they are The qualifications of the witness asked to testify on each side of the dispute, their divergent and the wordÐforÐword accuracy of the testimony creates a jury issue. Similarily, a given tape transcriptlation may be explored in recording, which we emphasize is just another piece of real depth at trial. Language experts that are evidence, may be subject to numerous understandings. Here two “experts” [and their transcripts] were available to Continued on p. 48

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 47 Forensic Transcribing and Translating: Who should perform the work? Continued

called as witnesses may be subject to ticular branch of a profession is not required. The question extensive cross-examination on their is not whether this witness is more qualified than other familiarity with different dialects and experts in the field; rather, the issue is whether the witness on the accuracy of the transcriptlations. is more competent to draw the inference than the lay jurors Now the question is: Who is a qual- and judge. The practice in respect to experts’ qualifications ified witness? Is it the interpreter has not, for the most part, crystallized in specific rules, but appointed by the court, a certified or is entrusted to the trial judge’s discretion reviewable only accredited language expert, or a bilin- for abuse. Reversals for abuse are rare. gual law enforcement agent that was directly involved in the case? When reviewing a foreign-language tape and transcriptla- In the case of transcribing, courts tion in court, it is clear that someone familiar with the language have not required any particular skill as a in question needs to be called in to shed light onto the subject qualification to listen to someone’s voice matter. The people most commonly called in to perform tran- in order to understand what is being said scriptlation work and testify as to what was said in the in English. However, listening to a recording are the court-appointed interpreter, the certified or recording several times, by laboring over accredited language expert, and the bilingual law enforcement the tape sentenceÐbyÐsentence or agent. It is the trial judge who has discretion as to whom will wordÐbyÐword and then translating it, be deemed as an expert witness. would further qualify a person as an expert witness in relation to that par- The Court-appointed Interpreter ticular recording. When the recording The court-appointed interpreter would be an obvious is in a foreign language, it is well choice for a transcriptlation project. He or she has, in most advised that it be transcribed by cases, the combination of education and experience that is someone who can prove to the court so desired in an expert witness. Moreover, court-appointed his or her qualifications to understand interpreters are usually certified, bringing yet another that language. Especially when for- expert qualification to the table. However, when listening to eign languages may vary in region- a recording that is, more often than not, poor in quality— alisms, dialects, jargon, and colloqui- rendering words or sentences equivocal in their sound—a alisms, making it even more difficult person may have to play a three to five second passage over to understand. and over again in order to decipher what is being said. This would indeed occupy too much of the court’s time, and force McCormick, Evidence ¤ 13 states the court interpreter outside of the simultaneous and consec- the following: utive practice. Furthermore, it should be left to the prosecutor and The witness’s qualifications as an defense attorney to present their own experts to support their expert...the witness must have suffi- evidence. This is not to say that a court-appointed interpreter cient skill or knowledge related to is not credible, trustworthy, or reliable. It is simply saying the pertinent field or calling that his that the court-appointed interpreter should not have to be in inference will probbly aid the trier a position to do the job of an expert for one side or the other. in the search for truth. The knowl- Such an expert should be hired outside of the court. In edge may be derived from reading having a court-appointed interpreter testify as to his or her alone in fields (education), from opinion on the evidence, a jury may be left with the impres- practice alone in other fields (expe- sion that: “Oh, if this is what the court is saying, well then, rience), or as is more commonly the it must be true.” This may unduly sway a jury to the prose- case from both. While the court cution’s or defense’s side. may rule that a certain subject of If a judge determines that it is better to appoint a court inter- inquiry requires that a member of a preter to perform a transcriptlation and testify to the accuracy particular profession, such as a of his or her work, there should be no mention on the record of doctor, engineer, or chemist, be the fact that that person is an employee of the court. What’s called, usually a specialist in a par- more, the court-appointed interpreter ought to be paid for his

48 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 or her transcriptlation work, aside from their salary and at his of American missionary parents and or her own rates. who had studied extensively in Madrid. It was the lawyer’s concededly inexpert The Certified or Accredited Expert and not impartial opinion that while the Having the prosecution or defense bring in their own certi- defendant’s translator was the more fied or accredited language expert would be consistent with all impressive witness, the police officer other expert testimony offered to the court. It is also consistent had prepared the more accurate tran- with the pivotal case United States v. Onori. This expert would scriptlation. Ultimately, the defendant have all of the qualifications found in a court-appointed inter- rendered the issue moot by absconding preter, maybe even more. Furthermore, opposing parties in a to the Dominican Republic. case would be able to prove or disprove, credit or discredit as they would with any other evidence and expert testimony that Summary is presented to the court. Whomever gets appointed to per- One note of caution here is that a particular language expert form a transcriptlation must be aware may not be familiar with certain regionalisms, dialects, jargon, of their limitations and not accept an and colloquialisms most often heard in court. Also, a language assignment if he or she feels they are expert may not be familiar with the standardized notation of not capable of doing a good job. There transcriptlation documents. are certain guidelines one must follow in transcribing and formatting a tran- The Bilingual scriptlation document. Furthermore, Many times transcriptlations are performed by bilingual law working within a team, where a desig- enforcement agents that were either a part of the original con- nated team leader performs all of the versation or involved in the case. There are two problems work and has the rest of the team mem- inherent in this. First, is the distinct possibility that this person bers doublecheck each step of the may be transcribing from memory and not from the actual transcriptlation, is essential. Making sounds on the tape. This is analogous to having a picture sure that spelling, punctuation, and entered into evidence that depicts a van parked in front of a accentuation are correct may prove to building which is blocking the view of the address, but has be critical. All of these steps help in 1209 written in with a marker next to where the address would making an accurate transcriptlation and have been. Well, indeed, it may have been 1209, but that ought giving it weight for a jury to consider. to be drawn out from direct testimony rather than from some- Whether it is the court-appointed body taking a marker and filling in the blank just because he or interpreter, a certified or accredited lan- she remembered the address number. guage expert, or a bilingual, the most Second, and perhaps the more obvious problem, is that it is important thing in a transcriptlation is very difficult to assess a bilingual’s fluency of a foreign lan- ACCURACY. Accuracy is what the guage within the court setting without naming specific creden- court demands, accuracy is what a jury tials. This person has not had the training, education, and expe- considers, accuracy is what the trans- rience that a court-appointed interpreter or a certified or criber/ translator ought to strive for, and accredited language expert has. However, just because a in doing so, the transcriptlation— person lacks these qualities does not mean they are not quali- whether it contains exculpatory or fied to do a transcriptlation. incriminating evidence—will reveal the For example: A lawyer recalls litigating the accuracy of the true content of the original conversation. transcriptlation of a conversation between a Colombian and a Costa Rican, both of whom had lived for several years on the Notes upper west side of Manhattan. The prosecutor’s transcriptlation 1 The sound quality of a tape actually was prepared by a police officer who was born in Puerto Rico involves two separate although re- and had learned English as a teenager, and who had also done lated issues: audibility (i.e., whether extensive undercover work in heavily Hispanic neighborhoods it can be heard) and intelligibility of New York City. The defendant’s transcriptlation was pre- pared by a professional linguist who had been born in Argentina Continued on p. 50

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 49 Forensic Transcribing and Translating: Who should perform the work? Continued

(i.e., whether it can be understood). 7 See Fountain v. United States, 384 F.2d 624, 630 (5th Cir. However, most courts have used the 1967); United States v. John, 508 F.2d 1134, 1141 (8th word “audibility” to cover both Cir.), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 962, 95 S.Ct. 1948, 44 L.Ed.2d issues, and the author will do like- 448 (1975); United States v. Lawson, 347 F.Supp. 144, 149 wise except where clarity requires (E.D.Pa. 1972). specific references to intelligibility. 8 That without which the thing cannot be. 2 United States v. Enright, 579 F.2d at 988. United States v. Cooper, 9 United States v. Onori, 535 F.2d 938 (1976) 365 F.2d 246, 250 (6th Cir. 1966), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 1030, 87 10 United States v. Chiarizio, 525 F.2d 289 (1975) S.Ct. 760, 17 L.Ed.2d 677 (1967). 11 United States v. Wilson, 578 F.2d 67 (1978) 3 United States v. Haldeman, 559 F.2d 31 (D.C.Cir.1976), cert. 12 United States v. Koska, 443 F.2d 1167 (1971) denied sub nom. Mitchell v. United States, 431 U.S. 933, 97 S.Ct. 13 United States v. Wilson, supra, 578 F.2d at 70. 2641, 53 L.Ed.2d 250 (1977). 14 United States v. Sutherland, 656 F.2d 1181 (1981) refering 4 United States v. Bryant, 480 F.2d to United States v. Llinas, 603 F.2d 506 (1979) 785, 789 (2d Cir.1973). Additional References 5 United States v. Monroe, 234 F.2d 29 Am Jur 2d, Evidence ¤¤ 1221Ð1243 49. Fishman and McKenna (1995), “Wiretapping and Eaves- 6 United States v. McMillan, 508 F.2d dropping,” CBC, ¤ 24 101, 105 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 421 McCormick (1999), Evidence ¤ 13 U.S. 916, 95 S.Ct. 1577, 43 L.Ed.2d 782 (1974) (emphasis added). United States v. Rengifo, 789 F.2d 975 (1st Cir. 1986)

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50 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 What a Difference a Word Makes: Yiddish Connotation in Isaac Bashevis Singer’s ‘Gimpel the Fool’

By Lillian Schanfield

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise fool knows himself including the title. In addition there are to be a fool.” (Shakespeare, As You Like It, 2.7.12) two instances (GF, 48, 50) where the original Yiddish could have been ren- “If a fool persists in his folly he will become wise.” William dered as fool because Singer uses the Blake root narr (opnaren = fooled, nar- rishkayten = foolishness [GT, 9, 11]), am Gimpel the fool. I don’t think myself a fool. On but instead was translated as lies and the contrary. But that’s what folks call me.”1 So deceive. In fact, the word narr has the “I begins, somewhat contradictorily, the Saul Bellow final word in the story: in heaven translation of the Isaac Bashevis Singer story “Gimpel the Gimpel says even he cannot be fooled Fool.” The speaker is a fool, but he is not a fool. The narrator (opnaren); Bellow translated the last deflects our notice of this inconsistency by rushing us into the word as deceived (GF, 50).4, 5 first of a catalogue of deceptions, cruel jokes, and humiliations foisted on him. However, if we go to the Yiddish text, we find that Gimpel’s ...This article argues that, far from cryptic self-introduction actually contains two different words, both translated by Bellow as “fool”—tam and narr. What the nar- being a hairsplitting matter, the rator actually says is, “I am Gimpel tam. On the contrary, I don’t burden of the story actually lies in the see myself as a narr.” This article argues that, far from being a hairsplitting matter, the burden of the story actually lies in the precise distinction between these two precise distinction between these two highly connotative words. highly connotative words... One of the semantic argument presented here is that it focuses on the initial words of the very translation that launched the American career of the Nobel Laureate, Isaac Bashevis The word tam has two sets of con- Singer. In 1953, Saul Bellow, then a well-known writer in his notations, depending on whether it is own right, was prevailed upon to translate the story from Yiddish used in Yiddish or Hebrew. Leaning into English (Hadda, 130). It had appeared in Yiddish in 1945 toward the colloquial, Yiddish uses the under the literary name Singer used in Yiddish circles, Yitskhok word to mean naïve and, more nega- Bashevis.2 The Bellow translation was published in the presti- tively, a half-wit or even moron (Wein- gious Partisan Review, and although Bellow did no further reich). However, a Hebrew dictionary translating for Singer, it proved influential, flinging open a door renders tam as simple, innocent, honest, that stayed open until Singer’s death in 1991 (see Hadda, 130ff artless, unsophisticated, harmless, and for a discussion of the relationship between Singer and his trans- even complete, perfect, pure, and whole lators, particularly Bellow). Although The Family Moskat (1950) (Alcalay, 1986). We can thus observe had preceded “Gimpel” as Singer’s first English translation, the that, while narr is always disparaging change in the nature of the English readership, Jewish and non- or derogatory, tam may have very posi- Jewish, had a remarkable impact on both the thrust and direction tive, even religious connotations. When of the author’s career in America as well as internationally.3 The Singer’s story is translated into other “Gimpel” translation introduced Singer to countless readers and languages from English, the negative became “without question Singer’s best known, most frequently connotations are carried over. Thus, it anthologized, and most thoroughly studied short story” is “Gimpel der Narr” in German and (Alexander, 143). “Gimpel l’imbecile” in French. To The Yiddish word narr (derived from the German for fool return to Gimpel’s opening statement, or buffoon) means fool, stupid, gull, confused, simpleton, or he literally says, “I am Gimpel, simple shlemiel (also spelled schlemiel). As in the English forms of or naïve, but I don’t think of myself as the word fool, to fool, foolishness, etc., the Yiddish word narr stupid.” Put another way, the simple functions as several parts of speech, for example, as a verb: “I one can be fooled, but he is not a fool. was easy to fool [opnaren] (GT, 5), rendered in the Bellow As compared to Singer’s story “The translation as “I was easy to take in” (GF, 37). The words fool or foolishness appear 16 times in the English translation, Continued on p. 52

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 51 What a Difference a Word Makes Continued

Fools of Chelm” (“Chelmner Narr- shame loses Paradise himself” (GF, 38). As Gimpel leaves the onim”), we would do well to remember rabbinical court, the rabbi’s daughter tricks him into kissing that the title of this story is “Gimpel the wall because “It’s a law; you’ve got to do it after every tam,” not “Gimpel narr.” visit,” and, with her laughter ringing in his ears, Gimpel Beyond the misleading connotation admits, “She put one over on me, all right” (GF, 38). of the story’s title and the opening The central deception of the tale, however, involves salvo, there are several points in the Gimpel’s 20-year marriage to a woman with an illegitimate son translation where the English word fool (pawned off as her younger brother), whom Gimpel himself is used for the Yiddish tam, thus muting calls a “whore” even before he marries her (GF, 39). The citi- further the distinction that should be zens of the shtetl work hard to convince Gimpel of her purity, made between tam and narr. Thus, and the marriage ceremony is performed at “the gates of the when the ghost of Gimpel’s wife repri- cemetery” near “the corpse washing hut” (a ritual involving mands him in a dream that saves his “unmarriageables” that seems to reflect a collective incentive to soul, Bellow translates: “You fool!” she ward off the ravages of an epidemic via the intercession of the said. “You fool! Because I was false is dead). Ironically, Gimpel grows to love his wife Elka as well everything false too? I never deceived as the illegitimate children produced during their marriage. anyone but myself” (GF, 48). For some In part the story is about nonconfrontation—a man who reason Bellow repeats “you fool,” tries to maintain peaceful relations through placation. But although it is used only once in the Yid- Gimpel is not a weakling. In the very first paragraph of the dish text. But more significantly, his story, remembering a practical joke played on him by school- wife actually uses both tam and narr in mates, Gimpel asserts that he had the ability to defend himself her verbal attack, addressing Gimpel as physically, but had concluded “I’m really not a slugger by “You tam...I never fooled [opnarent] nature. I think to myself, let it pass. So they take advantage of anyone” (GT, 16). me” (GF, 37). In part it is the story of a saintly man. When In Gimpel we recognize the literary Gimpel finds a strange man sleeping in his bed next to his wife, traditions of the gull, the battered hus- he thinks: “Another in my place would have made an uproar, band and cuckold, whose very gulli- and enough noise to rouse the whole town, but the thought bility motivate the events of the plot occurred to me that I might wake the child. A little thing like for the of the audience that—why frighten a swallow, I thought” (GF, 42). (both inside and outside the narrative). More importantly it is the story about the processes and Gimpel tells his life story retrospec- nature of belief. Gimpel regularly makes it clear he is aware of tively as an old man who awaits death. being “fooled.” True, at times he shows signs of all-too-human From the time of his childhood the resentment: “There’s a limit even to the foolishness of a fool like townspeople zeroed in on what they Gimpel” (GF, 43). But generally he informs us that he just goes saw as his extraordinary credulity. along with things. He knows that the full-term baby born after Gimpel seemed willing to believe any- only 17 weeks of marriage cannot be his. Certainly a daughter thing ranging from the fairly harmless born nine months into a marital separation imposed by rabbis or silly, like someone imitating the that has exceeded “three quarters of a year” cannot be his. And barking of a dog to frighten him, or the when he actually finds his apprentice in his own bed with Elka, story that the rabbi gave birth to a calf he accepts her ridiculous explanation that what he saw was a in his seventh month, to the more per- dream. What Gimpel is doing when he chooses to discredit the nicious—the announcement that the evidence of his eyes and of logic, what we normally regard as Messiah had come and that Gimpel’s physical reality, is making an active choice to believe. “I parents had risen from the grave. There resolved that I would always believe what I was told,” he says is no mercy in his neighbors’ treatment (GF, 44). According to the rabbi, belief is an end in itself: “Belief of him. He is even fooled by the rabbi’s in itself is beneficial. It is written that a good man lives by his daughter, this after receiving high- faith” (GF, 47). Simply, Gimpel turns this around and asks, minded advice from the rabbi that “What’s the good of not believing?” And in the most basic “You are not a fool. They are the fools. demonstration of belief, Gimpel equates faith in an invisible For he who causes his neighbor to feel God with the single person in his life he cannot believe in, the

52 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 wife who performs the most blatantly deceitful acts under his just how,” early on he had learned from very nose: “Today it’s your wife you won’t believe in; tomorrow the Pirkot Avot (The Ethics of the it’s God himself you won’t take stock in” (GF, 44). The under- Fathers) that ultimately “everything is lying syllogism, reflecting Singer’s wry brand of humor, is that possible” (GF, 37). As an old man he if one could believe in Elka in spite of what his eyes told him, has come to believe that: then one could believe in anything, even the invisible God.6 Gimpel’s major test follows immediately after Elka’s Whatever doesn’t really happen is deathbed confession that not one of the six of the children born dreamed at night. It happens to one during their 20-year marriage was his. The Spirit of Evil visits if it doesn’t happen to another, Gimpel and engages him in a dialogue in which he challenges tomorrow if not today, or a century the existence of God and of the world to come. Even though hence if not next year…often I the rabbi had said, “It is written, better to be a fool all your heard tales of which I said, “Now days than for one hour to be evil” (GF, 38), Gimpel succumbs this is a thing that cannot happen.” to a fleeting temptation to avenge himself once and for all on But before a year had elapsed I those who have unremittingly tormented him and urinates into heard that it actually had come to the dough used for baking the town’s bread. The motivation for pass somewhere (GF, 49).8 revenge and the sheer physicality of the act signify Gimpel’s momentary acquiescence to the pettiness of materiality and a One hesitates to quibble about so corollary denial of faith. Ironically it is Elka who saves him. masterful a translation, but, in the con- Her face blackened (to show that she is no longer of this text of Bellow’s evolution as a “Jewish world), she speaks to him in a dream, berating him: “You fool! American” writer, one may speculate Because I was false is everything false too? I never deceived about whether an increasing celebration anyone but myself” (GF, 48). Gimpel destroys the contami- of ethnic differences in both the culture nated batch of dough and leaves his thriving bakery business, and literature during the past 50 years his children, and the shtetl to become a lifelong wanderer in may have made a difference to a current “the world” (GF, 49).7, 8 translation. Using one paragraph as an What many readers invariably remember about the story is the example, the scene in which Gimpel cuckold’s outrageous and humorous naïveté. But Gimpel’s first catches sight of his future wife in Frampol years actually constituted less than half his life, the her “clay house,” the Yiddish narrator second half of which is disposed of by Singer on the final page remarks that Elka had two coiled braids of his story. In the end, Gimpel has spent years as a wandering in the hairstyle of a shiksa, presumably Jew, a beggar, a troubador, and an entertainer. The Gimpel/Singer the style of local Russian women. The equation is most pronounced here. Like his creator, Gimpel word shiksa means “a gentile woman,” informs us that he has been a believer in the fantastic for many but has negative connotations of “other” years: “improbable things that could never have happened— or “lesser” that were (tactfully?) omitted about devils, magicians, windmills, and the like,” a spinner of from the translation. Similarly, the word “yarns” eating at “strange tables” (GF, 49). shaygetz, literally a non-Jewish male, According to popular usage, a fool is a person who can be was translated by Bellow almost affec- convinced that what is, is not or, vice versa, that what is not, is. tionately as “little rogue” (GF, 49). Also But for the Platonist or Kabbalist, the dream world is truer than omitted is the adjective describing the empirical world. What passes for reality is unreal and insub- Elka’s braids, “vee l’havdeel,” an allu- stantial. In fact, the Yiddish word for “heaven” is “der emiser sion to the braided havdalah candles, the velt,” literally “the true world” (GT, 17). Whether he has always words “l’havdeel” constituting the first believed it or whether he evolves into it, in the end this is words of the prayer that separates the Gimpel’s credo—that reality is “entirely an imaginary world... sacred from the profane at the close of only once removed from the true world” (GF, 50). Certainly the Jewish Sabbath. This omission sacri- experience for Gimpel has proven synonymous with unending fices the ironic voice, which underscores deception and falsehood. But in the end the liars and pranksters the sense of Elka as “shiksa-like.” In the who tormented him were the self-deceivers, because ultimately “there were really no lies” (GF, 49). Although he had “forgotten Continued on p. 54

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 53 What a Difference a Word Makes Continued

same paragraph Bellow leaves out the 2. Yidisher Kemfer 24, whole no. 593 (March 30, 1945), entire sentence “The whole house was a pp.17-20. hut without a brik” (an amenity), thus losing for the reader perhaps a degree 3. See David Neal Miller, Fear of Fiction: Narrative Strate- of the poverty with which Elka strug- gies in the Works of Isaac Bashevis Singer, New York: State gles. Barefoot, Elka is doing the wash University of New York (1985) for a discussion of the trans- by the tub, and lines hung with drying formations of the author’s name (Bashevis, Varshavsky, clothes are strung from wall to wall in Isaac Singer) as related to the author’s feelings about being her little house. Peculiarly, according associated with his father and brother, but more signifi- to Bellow, Gimpel’s breath is almost cantly of his different relationship with his Yiddish and taken away by “the reek of it all” (GF, English reading public. For example, “The more he became 39). Actually, the Yiddish suggests that Isaac Bashevis Singer, the less he could continue to be it is her beauty and exoticness, not a Bashevis” (139). stench, that take Gimpel aback. He remarks that “It [the scene] almost 4. The word shoyteh, which also means fool, appears once in made me catch my breath” (GT, 7). In the text. A rabbi, whom Gimpel consults about his wife’s fact, this moment is fixated in adultery, observes: “You are not a fool. They are the Gimpel’s memory in its ethereality. fools...it is written, better to be a fool all your days than After her death, when Elka regularly for one hour to be evil” (GF, 38). Shoyteh is a Hebrew visits the aged Gimpel in his dreams, word used interchangably with narr meaning foolish, he sees her “standing by the washtub, stupid, silly, idiot, imbecile, moron, mad, crazy, insane, as at our first encounter” (GF, 49). and wild. It is appropriate that the rabbi uses Hebrew Singer’s Yiddish story is titled because he is a learned man. “Gimpel tam,” not “Gimpel narr.” Cer- tainly it tells the story of Gimpel regu- 5. In an early essay about Gimpel as a “wise fool” (1969), Paul larly being fooled, cheated, and Siegel suggested that the Yiddish word chochem was used tricked. But more profoundly it is a ironically in at least three sites in the story. Chochem liter- story about Gimpel the believer, and ally means a “wise person,” but can be used sarcastically for ultimately Gimpel the wise one. An fool or stupid. Significantly, Siegel claims that it appears in example of “the oxymoronic protago- Gimpel’s opening sentence (162) and also that Elka’s ghost nist”—the wise fool (Kaminsky, 216), calls Gimpel a chochem (169), using the word to support his it is Gimpel tam who welcomes death thesis about the paradox of the wise fool. However, the as his entry to the real world, where the essay is undocumented, containing no footnotes or bibliog- so-called deceptions of our world will raphy, and Siegel provides no information about the Yiddish have ceased. text that he cites. The word chochem does not appear in the story as originally published in 1945 or in the 1963 collec- Notes tion, Gimpel Tam uhn andereh dertzellugen. Siegel’s asser- 1. References to the English transla- tion is repeated verbatim by Friedman (191-92). tion of “Gimpel the Fool” are to “Gimpel the Fool” in Jewish-Amer- 6. Shortly before the publication of “Gimpel Tam,” Singer, ican Stories. Ed. Irving Howe. New writing under the name of D. Segal in The Forward, pub- York: New American Library, 1977, lished a story called “He Believes in His Wife Even Though pp. 37-50. References to the Yid- Facts are Stacked Against Her” (“er gloybt in zahn vayb dish original are to “Gimpel tam” in khotsh ale faktn zaynen kegn ir,” Forverts 19 [January 19, Gimpel Tam uhn andereh dertzel- 1945], 5). lugen. New York: Central Yiddish Culture Organization, 1963, pp. 5- 7. The focus of this article—that faith is, as Gimpel sees it, 17. Page references to “Gimpel the a matter of willing oneself to believe—precludes a con- Fool” are designated as GF and to sideration of ironic distance between author and narrator, “Gimpel tam” as GT. which is always the reader’s problem when the author

54 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 allows a character to speak for himself. It can also be the Hadda, Janet. Isaac Bashevis Singer: A author’s problem if the reader fails to grasp the narrator’s Life. New York: Oxford University fallibility. Indeed, Gimpel has been seen as a saint, a true Press, 1997. descendant of Bontsha the Silent (the protagonist of Peretz’s sentimental story, which Singer overtly parodies, Kaminsky, Alice R. “Gimpel.” Fools for example, using a markedly similar conclusion in and in Literature, Art, and which others wait for the protagonist to vacate his bed in History. Ed. Vicki K. Janik. West- the hospital by dying). But Gimpel has also been seen port: Greenwood Press, 1998. negatively as the quintessential passive Jew—weak, taunted, dispossessed, waiting for his reward in the next Kresh, Paul. Isaac Bashevis Singer: world, non-retaliatory toward his tormentors in this life The Magician of West 86th Street. (see, for example, Kresh). Even more bitterly, Gimpel’s New York: Dial Press, 1979. resolution to believe, in spite of all evidence, has been seen allegorically in the context of the Holocaust as the Miller, David Neal. Fear of Fiction: self-destructive faith of the Jews in God’s intervention, Narrative Strategies in the Works of despite growing physical evidence to contrary—the ghet- Isaac Bashevis Singer. New York: toes, concentration camps, and gas chambers (Wisse, 60- State University of New York, 1985. 67). If the story is read ironically, then the norm is prob- ably to be found in the interchange between Gimpel and Siegel, Paul N. “Gimpel and the Arche- the Evil One—that there is no God and no Paradise, and type of the Wise Fool.” In The one is a fool to believe in either. Achievement of Isaac Bashevis Singer. Ed. Marcia Allentuck. Car- 8. Although not narrated in the first person, an interesting bondale and Edwardsville: Southern contrast to Gimpel’s choice is provided by “The Spinoza Illinois University Press, 1969. of Market Street,” a story which preceded “Gimpel”(Yit- skhok Bashevis, “Der spinozist: Dertseylung” [The Spin- Singer, Isaac Bashevis. “Gimpel the ozan: A Story], Tsukunft 49, no. 7 [July 1944], pp. 419- Fool.” Translated by Saul Bellow. 26). From his Warsaw flat, Dr. Fichelson, the lonely but Jewish-American Stories. Ed. Irving single-minded intellectual, can look down into the Howe. New York: New American bustling street of tradespeople or up to the stars and the Library, 1977. Originally published heavens. Unexpectedly discovering virility and sexual in Partisan Review 20 (May 1953): passion with the ignorant, vulgar neighborwoman who has 300-13. nursed him back to health, he lowers his gaze from his devotion to reason and contemplation of the divine. Singer Isaac Bashevis. “Gimpel tam.” Although the romantic reader might applaud his choice of Gimpel Tam uhn andereh dertzel- marriage, earthly happiness, and materialism over philo- lugen. New York: Central Yiddish sophical reclusivity, Dr. Fichelson’s final prayer—“Divine Culture Organization, 1963. Origi- Spinoza, forgive me. I have become a fool”—leaves the nally published in Yidisher Kemfer reader with questions about the Singer’s position with 24, whole no. 593 (March 30, 1945): regard to the protagonist’s choice and the theme of folly. 17-20. Signed Yiskhok Bashevis.

References Weinreich, Uriel. Modern English- Alcalay, Reuben. The Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary. Yiddish Yiddish-English Dictionary. Jerusalem: Massada Publishing Co., 1986. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1968. Alexander, Edward. Isaac Bashevis Singer. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980. Wisse, Ruth R. The Schlemiel as Modern Hero. Chicago: University Friedman, Lawrence, S. Understanding Isaac Bashevis Singer. of Chicago Press, 1971. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1988.

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 55 DICTIONARY REVIEWS Compiled by Albert Bork

seeking to enter it” (p. xiv). Each of the translation companies, and their clients five sections offers real-world insights have frequently found themselves coping Bork is chair gained from dealing with the numerous with the many challenges involved in of the ATA intricacies involved in cross-cultural adap- ensuring that translation/localization ser- Dictionary tation, globalization and localization, ter- vices can be provided in a timely, efficient, Review minology management, large-scale project and cost-effective manner. These chal- Committee. management, quality metrics for transla- lenges, and oftentimes obstacles, include tion, controlled authoring, and language unreasonably short delivery schedules, automation (i.e., machine translation). lack of standardized procedures, coordina- Contributors to the volume include rep- tion problems (especially at the client- Translating Into Success. American resentatives from Microsoft Corporation, review stage), quality control, communi- Translators Association’s Scholarly Schneider Automation, Hewlett-Packard, cations, and conflicting priorities, to name Monograph Series, Vol. XI Time Latin America, Ericsson Language just a few of the potential, and often real, Editor: Services, Harvard Translation Services, stumbling blocks. Readers of this Series Robert C. Sprung Inc., and Logos Corporation, plus other volume will, I believe, find solutions for Publisher: authors who have extensive know-how in dealing with many unresolved problems, (Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins their respective fields. As the book’s sub- as well as ideas for improving existing sit- Publishing Co.) title indicates, these case studies indeed uations. In short, every one of the case Publication Date: provide “cutting-edge strategies for going studies has something valuable to offer. 2000 multilingual in a global age.” Finally, it’s interesting to note that this Price: Although this volume, like previous volume represents a departure from pre- $24.95 for paperback ones in the Series, has obviously taken a vious ones in that it is available as both a $50 ($30 ATA members) for hardcover couple of years to prepare, its contents perfect-bound paperback book with a Reviewed by: remain quite current for the most part. All colorful cover and the familiar solid blue Leland D. Wright, Jr. of the case studies are very informative hardcover (apparently an effort to offer and useful. Despite the fact that I have the book at a lower price). Unfortunately, Volume XI of the American Translators over 25 years of experience as a technical however, the binding of the paperback Association’s Scholarly Monograph Series, translator, I learned a great deal from version is not totally perfect, at least not Translating Into Success (Amsterdam/ reading them. However, I got the most out in the copy I read, because several pages Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing of three studies in particular: the story popped loose from the spine during the Co., 2000), is a must-read book for any- about how managing product localization very first reading, despite reasonably body and everybody interested in knowing costs at Microsoft has evolved over the careful handling (i.e., I did not intention- about the current trends within the transla- years; the case study describing quality ally “crack” the spine). Nevertheless, this tion business, especially in the burgeoning metrics implemented by a Dutch transla- Series volume should be a bestseller, area of product localization. tion company; and editor Robert Sprung’s especially at a price of $24.95 for the The 15 articles, called “case studies,” own discussion of the problems (and solu- paperback version and $50 ($30 for ATA contained in this new publication are tions) involved in translating for regulated members) for the hardcover edition. designed to “serve as a casebook for those industries. In the latter case, I am sure that already working in the industry, or those many translators (including this reviewer),

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56 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 THE TRANSLATION INQUIRER Compiled by John Decker

context being a pig (“Molch”) used in (Sp-E 10-2000/9) A transatlantic cor- Decker, an active pipelines to detect cracks, equipped with respondent worked on a document giving member, electronic circuitry to map the condition a Spanish father access to his children at is a freelance of the pipe. The following phrase con- Easter, Christmas, and during “Semana technical tains the problem word in bold print: blanca.” What is the latter? translator “Risse: ganze 3 cm lang und 2 Millimeter (Unknown-E 10-2000/10) H.N. Bar- in Danville, tief—und selbstverständlich alle, die rott wants to know what language the fol- Pennsylvania. größer sind—soll dieser Molch auf seinen lowing phrase is in and what it means: Kontrollfahrten dingfest machen—auf “Maka fuuti y nakarelapi juripa lawei zehn Zentimeter genau.” wifaloritum pitu maki obu.” Address your queries and responses to (G-E 10-2000/4) Lorbeerbaum is curious The Translation Inquirer, 112 Ardmoor about the meaning of “Petisierung” in a Replies to Old Queries Avenue, Danville, Pennsylvania 17821, or chemical context. Example: “Zu dieser (D-E 7-2000/1) (“B-aandelen”): Eric fax them to (570)275-1477. E-mail: Mischung wurde langsam eine 17 Gew.- McMillan found from the Amsterdam [email protected]. Generous assistance %ige wässrige Salpetersäurelösung (zur Exchanges Information Centre that these from Roy Wells ([email protected]) is Petisierung des Aluminiumoxidhydrats) are B shares. “Letter shares,” as they are gratefully acknowledged. Please make und Steatitöl gegeben.” called, differ in the rights attaching to your submissions by the 25th of each (G-E 10-2000/5) Another ProZ member them. Thus, A shares could be ordinary month to be included in the next issue. ran into trouble with “Tecsint,” in the con- shares, while B shares carry special text of running a multifunctional service voting rights, receive larger dividends, or his column is more like a piñata station about which potential managers of are otherwise “preferred.” than anything else. Open to the it must learn: “Warenkunde (vom Erdöl (E-Sp 7-2000/4) (bundling deals, T page in the Chronicle where The zum Tecsint).” What is it? bundling agreements): Although not Translation Inquirer hangs out (usually (Pt-E 10-2000/6) Jeanne Zang was familiar with the term bundling as starting as early as page 52, and occa- translating two stamps on the back of a applied to business agreements, Robert sionally as far back as page 61) and any- Brazilian diploma, and wonders about the France believes a likely candidate might thing and everything is likely to be translation of (6.a) “Por delegação de be “conjuncto,” as for example “con- dumped in your lap, just like when competência do Ministério da Educaçao” juncto(s) de transacciones” or “con- someone smashes those holiday objects and (6.b) “confere” in the phrase “Con- juncto(s) de convenios.” with a stick. fere im 16/02/1998.” This phrase is fol- (F-E 7-2000/6) (“En d’autres roses lowed by a signature. absentes”): In a sense, yes, the poet Rilke [Abbreviations used with this column: (R-E 10-2000/7) Alla Toff, a former in this work is talking about roses not yet DÐDutch; EÐEnglish; FÐFrench; GÐ chemist who knows that one letter may born, says Tamara Smith-Salvio. These German; IÐItalian; PtÐPortuguese; RÐ change the whole nature of a compound, roses, our “contemporaries” for a short Russian; SpÐSpanish.] got finished with a very difficult organic time, will be outlived by the holder of chemistry translation, and found herself said roses: because the holder will replace New Queries unsure of the English spellings of a them with new roses. Therefore, “...Et (E-E 10-2000/1) Robert France was number of chemicals that had been either survivre a cette sÏur/En d’autres roses translating a document into English in transliterated or translated: (7.a) Ben- absentes” could translate to And to out- which his target-language version employed zonal; (7.b) rfh,fvbyjdsq = carbamic live this sister/In roses yet to come. in accord with and in accordance with or carbamine (7.c) Primor; (7.d) Sevin; (F-E 7-2000/7) (“chaîne de la valeur”): interchangeably, as being synonymous. In (7.e) Chlorophos; (7.f) Paraoxone; (7.g) Tamara Smith-Salvio claims that Alan reviewing it after completion, an attorney Dipyroxime; (7.h) Armine; (7.i) Fluoroc- Page need not shy away from value chain changed all the former to the latter. Is tine; (7.j) Syntone; (7.k) Octinenborate; as being too translationese. Value chain is Robert right in believing there is no dif- (7.l) inen or enen. very much in vogue in the corporate ference between the two? (R-E 10-2000/8) A ProZ correspondent world, as attested by her seven years of (F-E 10-2000/2) Mary Lalevée won- was translating a chart (Nt[yjkjubz working for a global conglomerate based ders whether anyone can suggest any- ghjwtccjhyjuj fyfkbpf gjktnf), and an in London. thing better than black labor or moon- unknown abbreviation (PEБRA) appeared (F-E 7-2000/8) (“driver ODBC”): Marie lighting for “travail dissimulé.” The con- in a column called afrnjhyst nt[yjkjubb. Stouffer deciphers the abbreviation as text is a service agreement in which both Just for a bit of additional context, addi- Open DataBase Connectivity (“connexion parties are not to engage in this. tional entries in the column include ouverte aux bases de données”). This was (G-E 10-2000/3) A ProZ correspon- nt[yjkjubb afrnjhys[ gthtxytq and dent had a query about “dingfest,” the nt[yjkjubb afrnjhys[ gtht[jljd. Continued on p. 58

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 57 ACCREDITATION FORUM

Accreditation Review Policy andidates who fail an examina- original graders, will receive copies of standardized marking form. The nature of tion have a year from the date the original graded exam and will eval- the errors will be explained briefly. The C they take the examination to uate the errors marked to determine review copies of at least two failed pas- apply for the review. This revised policy whether they conform to the Accredita- sages (or one failed passage if the candi- has been in effect since 1999. tion Committee’s grading procedures. date completed only two passages), Those who wish to have their exam The reviewer will also grade the exami- together with the original source text and reviewed may obtain a Request for nation again. At that time, the reviewer the marking form for those passages, will Accreditation Review form and an expla- will decide either to uphold the failing be mailed to the candidate. This review is nation of the review process from ATA grade or to reverse the grade and award considered the final step in the process. Headquarters or from ATA’s Website. As accreditation to the candidate. No appeal is recognized and no further part of the application, candidates are In the case of a reversal, the review fee information will be supplied to the candi- asked to sign a statement indicating that will be refunded in full and the candidate date or anyone else regarding the review. they understand the conditions of the will receive a Certificate of Accreditation review and agree to abide by them. backdated to the original notice of Note: Candidates who are more inter- They return the completed form to failure, upgraded membership (if applic- ested in learning from their performance Headquarters along with the fee of able), and the rights and privileges of on the exam than in appealing a failing $100. The fact that the accreditation is accreditation. The candidate’s name will grade are advised that the practice test being reviewed will be kept confidential be published in the Chronicle along with program may be a better avenue for this. by Headquarters. The candidate’s iden- the names of other recently accredited Reviewers need only mark a sufficient tity will not be revealed to those per- members, and no disclosure will be made number of errors to justify the failing forming the review. of the fact that the accreditation was grade; practice test graders will identify Reviews are conducted after the close awarded based on a review. errors throughout the passages, with of the accreditation exam year. It is In the event that the reviewer upholds comments. Ordinarily, one year’s exam always best to contact the accreditation the failing grade, the markings of at least passages become the next year’s practice program manager to find out exactly two major errors, or one major error and tests. Therefore, candidates will receive when your review will take place. Ini- at least seven minor errors, or 20 minor more comprehensive feedback if they tially, the examination will be scrutinized errors (the minimum standard for failure retake the same passages as practice tests for possible processing errors. The of a passage) will be recorded on a clean in the new exam year. assigned reviewer, who is not one of the copy of the translation and on a grader’s

The Translation Inquirer Continued from p. 57 developed, she says, in 1992, to allow cannot do this without using a different (Sp-E 5-2000/11) (E.P.M., U.S.E., and access to different database systems. ODBC driver for each of these. M.G.P. on Peruvian school certificate): Louise Guay, a specialist in information (G-E 7-2000/9) (“EG-Flächen, KG- Diego Contreras finds it hard to tell without technology, calls the term a of the Flächen”): Julia Steinmetz, Beth Kantus, some more context, but offers “Educación English ODBC driver. Stephanie Thompson, Elke Stone, Terri Premilitar” and “Unidad de Servicios “Robinson” reports that it is a soft- Doerrzapf, and Antoinette M. Sixt Ruth Educativos” for the first two. Although a ware component to allow a software believe these to be “Erdgeschoss” Peruvian, he needs help with the third one. application to interface (retrieve, add, (ground level) and “Kellergeschoss” (Sp-E 6-2000/11) (“Comprometidos update, or delete records) with a com- (basement level). Teresa Reinhardt adds con el ser”): Sharlee Merner Bradley sug- mercial database management system that while on this subject, we ought to be gests committed to being as one possible (DBMS) or other software applications aware of other abbreviations: OG = solution. such as SQL Server, Microsoft Access, “Obergeschoss,” second floor or what- (Sp-E 7-2000/12.a) (“aspectos finan- Microsoft FoxPro, Microsoft Excel, and ever number; and UG = “Untergeschoss,” cieros,”“estados financieros”): Robert a host of others. Since the text is about a sometimes a synonym for KG. France calls the former financial consid- banking management system (i.e., a soft- (I-E 7-2000/10) (“raccomandata a erations, which are not the same as ware application in the sense meant mano”): Berto Berti says this means reg- “estados financieros.” above), this system probably interfaces istered and hand delivered, done by a (Sp-E 7-2000/12.b) (“documento de with a number of DBMS and other soft- courier service outside of the official domiciliación”): Tom West’s dictionary ware systems to retrieve and process postal service, and usually for deliveries information to satisfy users’ requests. It within city limits. Continued on p. 64

58 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 HUMOR AND TRANSLATION By Mark Herman

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Apply for an inmediate rating and know at the very moment Herman is a when you will receive your work, and how much. Joining the librettist and most advanced technology with the experience and translator. demostrated capacity of our interpreters and translators team, we offer our customer the “mother language” as job tool.

Babel Here is some of Babelworld’s general information: It is an unfortunate fact of life on this planet that some humans are not only incompetent, but that they are specifically incompe- BABELWORLD is an internet sited traslation/interpretation tent in their so-called fields of expertise. Among these humans company. BABELWORLD offers a direct, simple and easy must be counted those at the Internet company Babelworld to use service. New communications use makes the work (www.babelworld.com), the home office of which is apparently effectiviness and rate more possible. People who work in in Spain. Babelworld was brought to my attention by Barbara J. BABELWORLD do it from all over the world, what means Collignon. Ms. Collignon, in her e-mail to me of August 3, 2000, an improvement in several services aspects: claims that she “alerted them that there are multiple errors in the e-mail they send and in the text of their Website.” QUALITY: BABELWORLD works with Translator/Inter- When I looked at Babelworld’s Website on August 8, mul- preters from the whole world because it is not geographi- tiple errors were still apparent. cally restricted. This makes easier the fact that native English is one of the languages Babelworld claims it can trans- Translator/Interpreter could work with us. In the some late both into and out of. Here are words on Babelworld’s Eng- way, BABELWORLD owns a very diverse catalogue of lish-language Web pages intended to attract potential customers: texts to treat (juridical, medical, economical) and also the means to annalyze the style correcttly. [Note by MH: BABELWORLD put at their customers three differents prod- Babelworld also lists the types of translations it does as: ucts: translation, interpretation and simultan. The principal “Juridical,”“Literary,”“Medical,”“Others,”“Publicitary,” product’s Babelworld is the translation. All text and all lan- and “Technical.”] guages. The translation’s Babelworld consist on a literal translation of a text. ACCESIBILITY: Because of being an Internet sited com- pany, it is possible to given in its works, or other services The interpretation extracts the esence of each text. I you contracts from anywhere in the worls practically. Connection don’t need a literal translation, but the understanding of a facility, monitorized work possibility (to know who does it, text in other language, then the interpretation is the correct where and how) and easy Terms are also remarkable. choice. RATE: BABELWORLD does not sleep. Documents will be Babelworld always think in customers convenience. Thats treated, so that our staff is in nearly all the time strips. Your why there are many ways to make an order. As it could be order will be in our hands in less than one minute. different the format the text could be on, there are avaliable for the customers different ways of shipping and reception. And perhaps mangled beyond recognition in less than two. The simpliest way. The shipping is made in the same moment you confirm you order. The reception after the real- Submit items for future columns via e-mail to hermanapter@ ization, through Babelworld’s web page. Text must be in earthlink.net or via snail mail to Mark Herman, 5748 W Brooks plane text (.TXT extension) or Word (.DOC extension). Rd, Shepherd MI 48883-9202. Examples of translations of humor are preferred, but humorous anecdotes about transla- Here are words intended to induce translators to work for tors, translations, and mistranslations are also welcome. Babelworld: Include information and permission if relevant. Unless submitters request otherwise, material submitted may be Wanna be BABELWORLD’s translator? Get now a budget shared with Robert Wechsler of Catbird Press (catbird@ automaticaly and without commitment. Babelworld is a pipeline.com), who is planning an international collection of interpreters and translators global company, able to release humor in English translation. uninterrupted service (7x24) to the most exigent customers.

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 59 CHAPTERS,AFFILIATED GROUPS, AND OTHER GROUPS

ATA Chapters ¥ 2000 NCTA Membership Directory available in print version for $25 or on diskette for $10. To purchase, mail remittance to the above address, or fax/tele- Atlanta Association of Interpreters and Translators (AAIT) phone MasterCard/Visa number and expiration date. P.O. Box 12172 ¥ A Practical Guide for Translators, 1997 revised edition available for $10. To Atlanta, GA 30355 purchase, mail remittance to the above address, or fax/telephone MasterCard/Visa Tel: (770) 587-4884 number and expiration date. [email protected] ¥ www.aait.org ¥ NCTA General Meetings for 2000: Place: University of California Extension, 55 Laguna Street, San Francisco Carolina Association of Translators and Interpreters (CATI) 604 W. Academy Street Date: December 9 Fuquay-Varina, NC 27526 Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society (NOTIS) Tel: (919) 577-0840 ¥ Fax: (919) 557-1202 P.O. Box 25301 [email protected] ¥ www.ncgg.org/CATI Seattle, WA 98125-2201 ¥ Local group meetings held in Asheville, Charlotte, and Research Triangle Park, Tel: (206) 382-5642 NC; and Columbia and Greenville/Spartanburg, SC. [email protected] ¥ www.notisnet.org ¥ 2000 membership directory, $12; CATI Quarterly subscription, $12. ¥ Accreditation Workshop, Saturday, January 27, 1Ð4pm. Florida Chapter of ATA (FLATA) Contact: [email protected] P.O. Box 14-1057 Southern California Area Translators and Interpreters Association Coral Gables, FL 33114-1057 (SCATIA) Tel/Voice: (305) 274-3434 ¥ Fax: (305) 387-6712 P.O. Box 292268 [email protected] ¥ www.atafl.com Los Angeles, CA 91367 Mid-America Chapter of ATA (MICATA) Tel: (818) 725-3899 ¥ Fax: (818) 340-9177 P.O. Box 144 [email protected] ¥ www.scatia.org Shawnee Mission, KS 66201 Attn.: Meeri Yule Affiliated Groups Tel: (816) 741-9441 ¥ Fax: (816) 741-9482 www.ata-micata.org Michigan Translators/Interpreters Network (MiTiN) P.O. Box 852 National Capital Area Chapter of ATA (NCATA) Novi, MI 48376 P.O. Box 65200 Tel: (248)344-0909 ¥ Fax: (248)344-0092 Washington, DC 20035-5200 E-mail: [email protected] ¥ www.mitinweb.org Tel: (703) 255-9290 ¥ E-mail: [email protected] ¥ The Professional Services Directory of the National Capital Area Chapter of Utah Translators and Interpreters Association (UTIA) the American Translators Association (NCATA) has gone online. It lists P.O. Box 433 NCATA members and the services they offer, together with additional infor- Salt Lake City, UT 84110 mation that enables translation and interpretation users to find just the right Tel: (801)359-7811 ¥ Fax: (801)359-9304 language specialist for their projects. Bookmark www.ncata.org and check out E-mail: [email protected] the NCATA directory. If you maintain language-related Web pages, you may www.stampscapes.com/utia want to include a link to the directory. NCATA is always interested in com- ments and suggestions. Other Groups This list gives contact information for translation and interpretation New York Circle of Translators (NYCT) groups as a service to ATA members. Inclusion does not imply affiliation P.O. Box 4051, Grand Central Station with or endorsement by the ATA. New York, NY 10163-4051 Tel: (212) 334-3060 American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) www.nyctranslators.org Box 830688 Richardson, TX 75083-0688 Northeast Ohio Translators Association (NOTA) Tel: (214) 883-2093 ¥ Fax: (214) 833-6303 1963 East Sprague Road Seven Hills, OH 44131 Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association (AATIA) Tel: (440) 526-2365 ¥ Fax: (440) 717-3333 P.O. Box 13331 E-mail: [email protected] ¥ www.ohiotranslators.org Austin, TX 78711-3331 www.aatia.org Northern California Translators Association (NCTA) P.O. Box 14015 The California Court Interpreters Association (CCIA) Berkeley, CA 94712-5015 345 S. HWY 101, Suite F2 Tel: (510) 845-8712 ¥ Fax: (510) 883-1355 Encinitas, CA 92024 E-mail: [email protected] ¥ www.ncta.org Tel: (760) 635-0273 ¥ Fax: (760) 635-0276 www.ccia.org ¥ Telephone/online referral service. See searchable translator database on Website. Chicago Area Translators and Interpreters Association (CHICATA) P.O. Box 804595 Chicago, IL 60680 Tel: (773) 508-0352 ¥ Fax: (773) 508-5479 E-mail: [email protected]

60 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 Colorado Translators Association (CTA) Society for Technical Communication (STC) P.O. Box 295 901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904 Eldorado Springs, CO 80025 Arlington, VA 22203-1822 Tel: (303) 554-0280 ¥ Fax: (303) 543-9359 Tel: (703) 522-4114 ¥ Fax: (703) 522-2075 [email protected] www.stc-va.org ¥ For more information about the online directory, newsletter, accreditation The Translators and Interpreters Guild (TTIG) exams, and professional seminars, please visit www.cta-web.org. 2007 N. 15th Street, Suite 4 Delaware Valley Translators Association (DVTA) Arlington, VA 22201-2621 606 John Anthony Drive Tel: (703) 522-0881, (800) 992-0367 ¥ Fax: (703) 522-0882 West Chester, PA 19382-7191 [email protected] [email protected] www.ttig.org ¥ 1999-2000 Membership Directory available for $10. Please make Washington State Court Interpreters and Translators Society (WITS) check payable to DVTA and mail your request to the above address. P.O. Box 1012, El Paso Interpreters and Translators Association (EPITA) Seattle, WA 98111-1012 1003 Alethea Place Tel: 206-382-5690 El Paso, TX 79902 www.witsnet.org Fax: (915) 544-8354 [email protected] AUSTRALIA Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators Inc. (AUSIT) Houston Interpreters and Translators Association (HITA) P.O. Box A202 3139 West Holcombe, Suite 140 Sydney South, NSW 1235 Australia Houston, TX 77025 Tel: +61-2-9745-1382 ¥ Fax: +61-2-9745-5528 Tel: (713) 661-9553 ¥ Fax: (713) 661-4398 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] www.ausit.org

Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL) CANADA 4646 40th Street, N.W., Suite 310 Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta (ATIA) Washington, DC 20016 P.O. Box 2635 Tel: (202) 966-8477 ¥ Fax: (202) 966-8310 Station M E-mail: [email protected] Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 3C1 www.languagepolicy.org Tel: (403) 243-3477(Alberta office) or (403) 434-8384 (Edmonton office) Metroplex Interpreters and Translators Association (MITA) www.atia.ab.ca 7428 Summitview Drive Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) Irving, TX 75063 1 Nicholas Street, Suite 1202 Tel: (972) 402-0493 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 7B7 www.users.ticnet.com/mita/ Tel: (613) 241-2846, Toll-free: 1-800-234-5030 ¥ Fax: (613) 241-4098 National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators E-mail: [email protected] (NAJIT) www.atio.on.ca 551 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3025 Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs/International Federation New York, NY 10176 of Translators (FIT) Tel: (212) 692-9581 ¥ Fax: (212) 687-4016 2021 Union Avenue, Suite 1108, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2S9 Canada [email protected] ¥ www.najit.org Tel: (514) 845-0413 ¥ Fax: (514) 845-9903 Nebraska Association of Translators and Interpreters (NATI) [email protected] 4542 South 17th Street Ordre des traducteurs et interprètes agréés du Québec (OTIAQ) Omaha, NE 68107 2021 Union, Suite 1108 New England Translators Association (NETA) Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2S9 217 Washington Street Tel: (514) 845-4411, Toll-free: 1-800 265-4815 ¥ Fax: (514) 845-9903 Brookline, MA 02146 www.otiaq.org Tel: (617) 734-8418 ¥ Fax: (617) 232-6865 [email protected] ¥ www.netaweb.tripod.com ENGLAND Institute of Translation & Interpreting (ITI) New Mexico Translators and Interpreters Association (NMTIA) 377 City Road P.O. Box 36263 London, EC1V 1ND England Albuquerque, NM 87176 Tel: +44 (0)20 7713 7600 ¥ Fax: +44 (0)20 7713 7650 Tel: (505) 352-9258 ¥ Fax: (505) 352-9372 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] [email protected] ¥ www.cybermesa.com/~nmtia www.iti.org.uk ¥ 2000 Membership Directory available for $5. Please make check payable to NMTIA and mail your request to the address listed here, or contact us by e-mail. Saint Louis Translators and Interpreters Network (SLTIN) Note: All announcements must be received by the first of the month P.O. Box 3722 prior to the month of publication (September 1 for October issue). Ballwin, MO 63022-3722 For more information on chapters or to start a chapter, please contact Tel: (636) 394-5334 ¥ Fax: (636) 527-3981 ATA Headquarters. Send updates to Christie Matlock, ATA Chronicle, [email protected] 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590, Alexandria, VA 22314; Tel: (703) 683-6100; Fax: (703) 683-6122; e-mail: [email protected].

ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 61 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENTS

Translators/Interpreters English>Italian Services, Attn: Pat Redington, Job Order Advertise in the Chronicle! #3061051, 140 East 300 South, First Experienced Professional, ATA Accred- Floor, Salt Lake City, UT 84111. ited. Fast, accurate, dependable, all tech- For information, contact Jeff Sanfacon at [email protected] nical fields. Latest equipment. (954) Staff Linguists 781-8971, Fax: (954)781-9002, ared@ Coordinator of Translation Harvard Translations, a technical mindspring.com. translation company with Fortune 500 English<>Vietnamese Duties: Handle correspondence and clientele, has openings for Staff Linguists coordinate activities between offices in to provide technical translation, editing, Top-quality and high volume transla- the U.S. and in Eastern Europe. Translate proofreading, and QA support for com- tion services. DTP and Lino output. PC and prepare technical documents in puter software localization and financial, and Mac. We support most Vietnamese Russian, Czech, Slovak, and Polish lan- scientific, medical, and legal documenta- fonts. Call us today at (954)570-9061, guages including medical research, legal tion projects in major European and Fax: (954)570-9108. documents, custom and duty documents, Asian languages. Requirements include: Chinese, Japanese, analysis and certificates of manufacture, a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics, Trans- Korean<>English and shipping documents. Translate mar- lation, or a relevant technical subject, two keting materials including catalogs, Highly qualified technical translators. year's professional experience in tech- brochures, and short sheets. Prepare and DTP to film output. www.aimtrans.com. nical translation, and fluency in relevant present seminars, meetings, and conven- E-mail: [email protected]. (303)858- languages, including idiomatic fluency tions in Russian, Czech, Slovak, and 0100, ext. 12. and cultural knowledge. Send cover Polish languages. Prepare and design letter, resume, and salary req. to Harvard Korean<>English periodical newspapers and magazines for Translations, 815 Somerville Avenue, Experienced Translator. Technical, those countries. Create new product Cambridge, MA 02140, Fax: (617)868- software and computer, business and labels for those countries. Coordinate 6815, www.htrans.com. No calls. inventory for warehouses in those coun- medical documents. Ph.D. in Engi- Seeking neering. (Voice) (909)305-2372, Fax: tries. Address questions from interna- (909)305-2382, E-mail: 102335.720@ tional distributors regarding products, Translator wanted by Law Firm in compuserve.com. ingredients, and usage. Promote new New York, NY to translate legal docs & products. Research medical and scientific other materials. Must have Bach in any Polish<>English material in those languages. Require- field & 1 yr translating exp. Fluency in Meticulous, dependable full-time, ments: Bachelor of Science Degree in English/Japanese reqd. Respond to: HR freelance translator/conference inter- Russian language and two years of expe- Dept, Law Offices of C Steven Horn, 23 preter. PC or Macintosh. Contact Dr. rience; or Masters Degree. Terms: Full- W 26th St, New York, NY 10010. Piotr Graff. (802)258-4667, Fax: 258- time. Salary: $40,000.00 per year. Reply 4621, E-mail: [email protected]. by resume to: Department of Workforce

UpcomingUpcoming Accreditation Accreditation Exam Exam Information Information England New York Washington CONGRATULATIONS November 4, 2000, October 28, 2000, April 29, 2001 West Sussex New York City Seattle Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: Congratulations to the following people October 21, 2000 October 13, 2000 April 13, 2001 who have successfully completed accreditation exams: Georgia Spain Wisconsin December 9, 2000, October 28, 2000, April 22, 2001 Atlanta Madrid Madison, 9:00am Russian into English English into German Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: Linda A. Noble Petra C. Bargmann November 22, 2000 October 14, 2000 April 6, 2001 Seattle, WA Richmond, VA Massachusetts Utah Canada Spanish into English English into Russian November 18, 2000, January 27, 2001, May 12, 2001 Alexander S. Bukovietski Boston Salt Lake City Toronto Sebastian C. Blifeld Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: Registration Deadline: Bronx, NY St. Louis, MO November 3, 2000 January 13, 2001 April 27, 2001 English into Finnish Registration for all accreditation exams should be made through ATA Headquarters. All sittings have a maximum capacity and admission is based on the order in which Anu E. Erringer registrations are received. Forms are available from the ATA Website or from Headquarters. Please direct all inquiries regarding general accreditation information to ATA Santa Barbara, CA Headquarters at (703) 683-6100.

62 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 AMERICAN TRANSLATORS ASSOCIATION OFFICERS President President-Elect Secretary Treasurer Ms. Ann G. Macfarlane Mr. Thomas L. West III Ms. Courtney Searls-Ridge Mr. Eric Norman McMillan P.O. Box 60034 Intermark Language Services German Language Services 1824 S Street NW, #304 Seattle, WA 98160-0034 1175 Peachtree St. NE, Ste. 850 2658 48th Avenue SW Washington, DC 20009-6137 Tel: (206) 542-8422 Atlanta, GA 30361 Seattle, WA 98116 Tel/Fax: (202) 332-6093 Fax: (206) 546-5065 Tel: (404) 892-3388 Tel: (206) 938-3600 [email protected] [email protected] Fax: (404) 892-1166 Fax: (206) 938-8308 twest@ courtney@ intermark-languages.com germanlanguageservices.com

DIRECTORS Mr. Allan W. Adams Ms. Beatriz Bonnet Dr. Gertrud Graubart Champe Prof. Alan K. Melby Mr. Timothy Yuan Adams Translation Services 7465 East Peakview Avenue 521 Melrose Avenue 1223 Aspen Avenue 89-33 Pontiac Street 10435 Burnet Road, Suite 125 Englewood, CO 80111 Iowa City, IA 52246 Provo, UT 84604 Queens Village, NY 11427 Austin,TX 78758 Tel: (303) 779-1288 Tel: (319) 335-2002 Tel: (801) 378-2144 Tel: (718) 776-8139 Tel: (512) 821-1818 Fax: (303) 779-1232 Fax: (319) 335-3417 Fax: (801) 377-3704 Fax: (718) 776-3589 Fax: (512) 821-1888 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Mr. Scott Brennan Marian S. Greenfield Ines Swaney Mr. Kirk Anderson 10005 Cairn Mountain Way 2619 Holly Avenue 6161 Harwood Avenue 2455 Flamingo Drive, #401 Bristow, VA 20136-3009 South Plainfield, NJ 07080 Oakland, CA 94618 Miami Beach, FL 33140 Tel: (703) 393-0365 Tel: (212) 235-2752 Tel: (510) 658-7744 Tel: (305) 532-7252 Fax: (703) 393-0387 Fax: (212) 235-2755 Fax: (510) 658-7743 Fax: (305) 532-0885 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

COMMITTEE CHAIRS Accreditation Chapters Ethics Professional Development Terminology Shuckran Kamal Kirk Anderson Karen Brovey Marian S. Greenfield Sue Ellen Wright Vienna, VA Miami Beach, FL Library, PA South Plainfield, NJ Kent, OH Tel: (703) 242-0740 Tel: (305) 532-7252 Tel: (412) 655-7288 Tel: (212) 235-2752 Tel: (330) 673-0043 Fax: (703) 242-0750 Fax: (305) 532-0885 Fax: (412) 655-1561 Fax: (212) 235-2755 Fax: (330) 673-0738 Active Membership Review [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Harvie Jordan Dictionary Review Honors and Awards Public Relations Training Austin, TX Albert G. Bork Courtney Searls-Ridge L. Manouche Ragsdale Gertrud Graubart Champe Tel: (512) 441-5582 Austin, TX Seattle, WA Los Angeles, CA Iowa City, IA Fax: (512) 441-3983 Tel: (512) 437-8772 Tel: (206) 938-3600 Tel: (310) 275-9571 Tel: (319) 335-2002 HarvieJordan@ Fax: (512) 836-9440 Fax: (206) 938-8308 Fax: (310) 271-1319 Fax: (319) 335-3417 compuserve.com [email protected] courtney@ [email protected] [email protected] Budget Divisions germanlanguageservices.com Special Projects Translation and Computers Eric Norman McMillan Timothy Yuan Interpretation Alan K. Melby Washington, DC Queens Village, NY Christian Degueldre Vacant Provo, UT Tel/Fax: (202) 332-6093 Tel: (718) 776-8139 Pacific Grove, CA Tel: (801) 378-2144 [email protected] Fax: (718) 776-3589 Tel: (408) 647-4179 Fax: (801) 377-3704 [email protected] Fax: (408) 647-4199 [email protected] [email protected]

DIVISION ADMINISTRATORS French Language Hebrew Language Japanese Language Portuguese Language Slavic Languages Monique-Paule Tubb [being established] Izumi Suzuki Vera Abreu Nora Seligman Favorov Chevy Chase, MD Batya Reichman Novi, MI 48376 San Jose, CA Orlando, FL Tel: (301) 654-2890 Houston. TX Tel: (248) 344-0909 Tel: (408) 266-5832 Tel: (407) 679-8151 Fax: (301) 654-2891 Tel/Fax: (713) 721-7799 Fax: (248) 344-0092 Fax: (408) 266-5892 Fax: (646) 356-1521 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] German Language Interpreters Literary Science and Technology Spanish Language Dorothee Racette Diane E. Teichman Clifford E. Landers Nicholas Hartmann Rudolf Heller Saranac, NY Houston, TX Montclair, NJ Milwaukee, WI Brookfield, MA Tel: (518) 293-7494 Tel/Fax: (281) 445-3119 Tel: (973) 744-4261 Tel: (414) 271-4890 Tel: (508) 867-8494 Fax: (518) 293-7659 [email protected] Fax: (973) 744-4822 Fax: (414) 271-4892 Fax: (508) 867-8064 [email protected] [email protected] Italian Language [email protected] [email protected] Roberto Crivello Nordic Translation Company Salt Lake City, UT Edith M. Matteson Steven P. Iverson Tel: (801) 278-7757 Ballwin, MO Milwaukee, WI Fax: (801) 278-4211 Tel/Fax: (636) 207-7256 Tel: (414) 271-1144 [email protected] [email protected] Fax: (414) 271-0144 [email protected] ATA REPRESENTATIVES To International Federation To Joint National Committee To Regional Center for To ASTM Translation User ASTM Language of Translators (FIT) for Languages (JNCL) North America (RCNA) Standards Project Interpreting Standards Peter W. Krawutschke Christophe Réthoré Vacant Rosalie P. Wells Project Kalamazoo, MI Harrisonburg, VA West Grove, PA Bruce T. Downing Tel: (616) 387-3212 Tel: (540) 568-3512 Tel: (610) 869-0920 Minneapolis, MN Fax: (616) 387-3103 Fax: (540) 438-0648 Fax: (610) 869-9320 Tel: (612) 624-6552 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Fax: (612) 624-4579 FIT: http://www.fit-ift.org [email protected] 2New Books from ATA An Introduction to the Professions of Translation and Interpretation

This 376-page publication, published by ATA’s Japanese Language Division, provides useful information for anyone getting started in translating or interpreting. While the focus is on Japanese<>English translators and interpreters— a few chapters are in Japanese—the book is of interest for all.

Cost: $25 for ATA members; $40 for nonmembers

ATA Specialized Translation Services Directory: French<>English Translation and Interpretation Services

This 268-page directory is the first printed “slice” or sort from ATA’s extremely successful online Translation Services Directory. This specialized TSD includes the profiles of over 850 translators and interpreters who work in French>English, English>French, or both directions. The directory includes an index of participants by 121 areas of specialization and a listing of participants who are ATA-accredited French>English and/or English>French.

Cost: $45 for ATA members; $60 for nonmembers

To Order, call: ATA • 225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590 • Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 683-6100 • Fax (703) 683-6122 • [email protected]

The Translation Inquirer Continued from p. 58 DISPLAY ADVERTISING INDEX calls “domiciliación” payment for standing order, according to Sharlee Merner Bradley. Robert France claims the same dictionary AvantPage ...... 21 says payment by standing order, and renders the entire phrase in C&E Translation ...... 42 English as authorization for payment by standing order, or the ComNet ...... 16 authorizing document for payment by standing order. Maybe Echo International ...... 45 even better, or at least syntactically different, is document InterLingua.com ...... 21 authorizing payment by standing order. Katyusha, Inc...... 16 KIEN ...... 34 Again I regret the lack of Asian languages, and earnestly Multicorpa ...... 67 plead with you, if you specialize in Arabic, Japanese, Chinese SHP ...... 10 Mandarin, Tagalog, etc., and you like this column, to contact me, preferably at the fax number listed at the beginning of this TRADOS Corporation ...... 68 column, where your query will not suffer the indignities of Translation Bureau ...... 66 transliteration. Why hold back?

64 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 65 66 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 ATA Chronicle ¥ October 2000 67